We Meet Again
by AusllyxxRauraForever
Summary: Ally's mom passed away a few years back and Ally's been a bit off since then. Her dad decides that it would be a good idea to go see their old family friends, the Moons. They're staying for the whole summer and Ally doesn't think that she'll be able to make it without her best friend, Trish. Can she survive the summer or will she end up falling for her old best friend, Austin Moon?
1. Chapter 1

**New story! I hope you like it! Laura, would you like to do the honors?**

**Laura: Of course! Kenzie doesn't own Austin & Ally nor most of the songs she uses... except that weird one at the beginning.**

**Me: Hey! I was just putting random stuff!**

**Laura: Suuure you were. Anyway, here's the story!**

**Ally's POV:**

I didn't really want to. All week, I've been trying to act sick and pretend to have fatal diseases. I even told my dad that there was a deadly virus going around River Dale. He didn't believe any of my stories and said I had to go.

Come to River Dale, he said. It'll be fun, he said. Well, I didn't believe it would be fun at all.

Today we're visiting to visit the Moons. They've been our life long family friends. It's been a few years since we've seen them and I've missed my best friend, Austin Moon. We used to do everything together. We were inseparable… until we were separated. My mom, my dad, and I moved to Miami, Florida. We used to be neighbors and Austin would come over and wake me up every morning. But ever since my mom died, I've been in a rut and my dad thought it'd be nice to see my old best friend.

At first, I wasn't up to the idea because I was expecting to spend the summer with my best friend, Trish. She was the first one to actually befriend me when we moved to Miami and she introduced me to all of her friends. But I guess we can spend next summer together. Suddenly, I think of some lyrics, reach into my bag in the backseat and pull out my songbook.

_We're separated for now, my friend_

_But there's always next summer to spend_

_Together. I miss you for now_

_And we're gonna have a cow_

Wait a minute. Did I just say we're going to have a _cow_? I quickly scratch that line out and try to think of things that rhyme with now. Bow, how, pow, vow, wow…

I'll think of something. Trish will be happy that I was thinking about her and that she inspired a song.

Oh my gosh. What if Austin thinks I'm weird for being kind of a band geek? I love to play instruments now and when we played instruments as kids, we weren't any good and it was just for fun. I never thought about that. Oh, well. I take out my iPod.

"Wake me when we get there," I tell my dad. I put in my earphones in and fall asleep.

"Ally… Ally, honey wake up," I hear my dad say. I open my eyes and see the Moons' house about a yard away from the car. I blink my eyes and we walk up to the door. Dad rings the doorbell and a beautiful woman with dirty blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes opens the door seconds later. She is also very tall. Hey, it's Mrs. Moon!

"Lester!" she exclaims.

"Mimi!" he exclaims. They embrace and then Mrs. Moon looks at me.

"Ally, look how… much more beautiful you've gotten!" I know what she wanted to say. She wanted to say 'Look how big you've gotten'. But I haven't gotten big. I'm still very short, about five foot three.

"I don't even begin to compare to you, Mrs. Moon," I say to her.

"Oh, stop it!" she tells me smiling. "And call me Mimi! We're practically family!"

"Okay, _Mimi_," I say jokingly and we both laugh.

"Oh, come in. Come in!" she says moving out of the way to let us in.

"We need to get our bags," my dad tells her. We walk to the car and Dad grabs all three of his bags. I grab my two bags and we walk inside.

"Austin! The Dawsons are here!" she yells. No answer. "Oh, him. He's always in that room of his. Follow me," Mimi tells us. I see glass china _everywhere _on the ground floor. Maybe there's less glass that I could possibly break upstairs. We walk up the stairs (there's still a lot of glass up here; oh no), down the hall and stop at the second door on the right.

"Ally, this is your room." She opens the door for me and I walk inside. She leaves to show my dad his room. Luckily, there's no glass in here. The walls are a dark shade of lavender and there's a canopy bed in the middle of the room. I've always wanted a canopy bed. I walk over to it, drop my bags on the ground and flop down onto the bed. Minutes later, Mimi knocks on my door.

"Come in," I say. She comes in and tells me I'm free to explore the house.

I'm happy to hear this because I want to find Austin. I smile at her and she leaves. I slide off of the bed and walk out my door. I turn to the right and continue down the hall until I hear… music. An electric guitar, in fact. It was really good, too. It might be Austin. Maybe he's into music now, too! I was going to knock on the door but suddenly the music stops and I hear footsteps coming toward the door. I run to my room and take out my songbook.

I flip to a random page and read over what I've written.

_Dallas_

That's the only thing I've written on the whole page.

"Oh, Dallas," I sigh. All of a sudden, my door opens and standing there is a very, _very _attractive boy with dirty blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes.

Austin. He's very different from what I remember. He's grown out of his childish face and his messy hair now hangs in his eyes. I hoped my mouth wasn't hanging open too much. But he didn't seem to care about his mouth because it was pretty wide open, too.

"You never were one to knock, were you?" I tease finally breaking the silence. He blinks at me before he realizes what I said. He takes a step back and knocks on the door.

"Who is it?" I ask.

"It's Austy," he tells me. That's what I used to call him when we were kids. He would never let anyone but me call him that.

"Hm… Come in," I finally say. He takes a step forward.

"Dinner should be ready soon," he says.

"Okay," I say giving him a small smile.

"What's that?" he asks pointing at my book. He walks over to my bed and sits down.

"First, you have to tell me something," I say to him.

"What do you wanna know?" he asks stretching out at my feet.

"Was that you playing the electric guitar?" I ask. He nods and shrugs his shoulders.

"Oh… you're pretty good," I tell him.

"Pretty good?" he asks. Oh no. Here comes his cocky alter-ego that sometimes used to appear.

"I think I'm pretty _awesome_," he tells me. I roll my eyes.

"Now answer my question," he says laughing.

"It's my songbook/diary," I tell him.

"Ooh," he says sitting up and extending his arms. "Lemme see, lemme see!" I shut my book and hold it close to my chest.

"No. I don't let anybody touch this book. Not even my dad or my best friend, Trish," I tell him.

"Oh… so what you're saying is… I've been replaced by this Trish person, huh?" he asks.

"Please. I bet you have a new best friend, too," I say.

"That's where you're right," he says. "Dez."

"Dez? What kind of name is Dez?" I ask.

"Well, his real name is Dezmond but we call him Dez," he explains. I shake my head.

"That's still a weird name," I say. He shrugs.

"So…" I say. "You're into music now, huh?"

"Yep. I can play almost anything. I can even play that thing with the weird name from Australia!" he brags.

"You mean the didgeridoo?" I ask.

"I guess." He shrugs. "I don't have one of those in my room yet, though."

"What kinds _do _you have?" I ask.

"You name it," he tells me.

"Bazantar," I say simply.

"What did you just call me?" he asks. I smirk.

"It's an instrument, silly," I tell him.

"Oh, well don't name it then because you know more instruments than I do," he says chuckling.

"Obviously," I say to him.

"Hey, it's not polite to brag," he says.

"No, I own a music store now. Well, my dad does," I explain.

"Really?!" he asks excitedly. I nod.

"Maybe I should come down to Miami next summer and try out some of those instruments," he says.

"You wanna see my room?" he asks.

"Sure," I say. I put my songbook on the bed and follow him to his room. He has _a lot _of instruments in here. Almost as many that are on display at Sonic Boom.

"Wow" slips out of my mouth.

"Impressed?" he asks. I nod. This is a very extensive collection for someone who doesn't own a music store. I look around and see an instrument the music store _doesn't _have. I can't help but gasp.

"Is this a _Theremin_?" I ask breathlessly.

"Yeah, why?" he asks.

"Do you realize how _rare _these things are?" I ask.

"Nope," he says. I roll my eyes.

"D-do you mind if I…?" I ask gesturing to the Theremin. He understands what I'm asking.

"Sure, go ahead," he tells me. I wave my hand above it and it lets out a beautiful noise. I let out a happy sigh.

"It's beautiful. It's a beautiful instrument," I say breathlessly.

"Dinner is probably ready. Come on," he says taking my hand. I feel a spark in my hand.

"Ow, you shocked me **(1)**," I tell him.

"My bad." We walk into the dining room and the first thing I smell is steak and potatoes but when Mimi starts to bring out the food, I see that there is much more food. Austin pulls out a chair and I sit down in it. He sits down beside me.

Austin leans over and whispers, "She went all out for you and your dad. Usually we just have small stuff like ribs, chicken, and/or lobster and a special dessert Mom makes. It's different every night. Whatever it is, it's always good."

"Where's your dad?" I ask.

"He comes home from work late all the time," he tells me.

"Ah."

"Where's your mo—?" He stops himself. "Oh, yeah… I forgot. I'm sorry," he tells me. I don't answer and stare at the ground.

"Would you, um... would you excuse me?" I ask. I stand up and walk to my room. I pick up my songbook and sing as I write down the lyrics that come to my head.

_You used to call me your angel_

_Said I was sent straight down from heaven_

_You'd hold me close in your arms_

_I loved the way you felt so strong_

_I never wanted you to leave_

_I wanted you to stay here_

_Holding me_

_I miss you…_

_I miss your smile…_

_And I still shed a tear_

_Every once in a while_

_Even though it's different now_

_You're still here somehow_

_My heart won't let you go_

_And I need you to know:_

_I miss you_

_Sha, la, la, la, la_

_I miss you_**  
**

I don't realize I'm crying until I sing the last note of the part. I wipe my eyes and look around. The window has curtains that match the lavender walls. The canopy of the bed is more of a dark purple than lavender. Maybe the place they got it from was out of lavender. The bedspread and pillow cases were also dark purple. Maybe to match the canopy. Or maybe the canopy is there to match the bed? Who knows?

I look to the opposite side of the room. Oh, no. The door is open.

Anyone could've heard me! Why did I leave the door open?!

**Okay so there's the first chapter of my new story. Hope you liked it! I know I kind of messed up at the beginning. R&R please!**

**The song in this chapter was I Miss You by Miley Cyrus.**

**1. Silly, naive Ally. Do any of you understand this?**

**I'm not a big fan of Miley Cyrus but it fit with the story so yeah. Anyway, I've always wanted to do that kind of disclaimer! I'll probably do that in all of my stories from now on... maybe... Review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ross, would you like to do the disclaimer today?**

**Ross: That'd be awesome! Yo! Kenzie doesn't own Austin & Ally! But she _is_ dope enough to own it!**

**Me: Aw, thanks Ross!**

**Ross: I hope she buys it one day and makes Laura and I kiss in every episode...**

**Laura: What?**

**Ross: Nothing! I didn't say anything! Just read the story! Read the story!**

* * *

There's a knock on the door.

"Ally?"

"Come in," I say quietly but loud enough for them to hear. Austin comes in and I turn away. I don't want him to see me crying. I feel him sit on my bed.

"Look, I'm sorry about… what I said. I… it's been so long since I've seen any of you. I kind of forgot she was even…" he trails off but I know what he's talking about. He forgot that my mother left us years ago to go live in Heaven.

"It's alright. You didn't know." I still haven't looked at him. We're both silent for a few minutes.

"Uh, shouldn't we be getting back to dinner?" I ask wiping my tears before turning to look at him. He must have known I was crying because he gives me a sad smile.

"Yeah. Let's go," he says holding out his hand. I believe that he thinks he needs to escort me everywhere. Nevertheless, I take his hand, receiving another electric shock, and let him lead me into the dining room again. Now the table has steak, potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and a large chicken on a silver platter.

"Wow…" I whisper. "You guys live like kings and queens."

"It's just food, dummy," he jokes. I roll my eyes and sit down.

Just as I do, Mr. Moon walks in. He sees me and yells, "Ally!" He gives me a big hug. "Mimi didn't tell me you were coming!" Mimi walks into the room carrying a plate on which is something I don't recognize.

"Mike, I told you yesterday," she says.

"Oh… guess I didn't remember."

My dad walks in and he and Mr. Moon goes crazy. Mimi set the plate she was carrying down in front of me.

"Wh-what's this?" I ask.

"It's Ratatouille. I just want you to try it and tell me how my cooking is," she says to me.

"Don't eat it; it's disgusting," Austin whispers beside me. I ignore him and take a bite.

"This is delicious!" I exclaim taking another bite.

"Great! It's all yours!" she tells me.

"Thank you, Mimi," I say. When Mr. Moon and my dad finally calm down and sit down, Mr. Moon looks at me.

"So, Ally, what is your life like now?" he asks.

"Oh. Mr. Moon I'm—" I start.

"Ally! Call me Mike!" he exclaims.

"Okay, um, Mike, I'm a singer/songwriter," I say.

"Got that right," I hear Austin say under his breath beside me. Does that mean—? Oh, no! He heard me.

"Um, anyway, as I was saying, I'm a singer/songwriter... but I'm not comfortable singing in front of people. I have horrible stage fright now. But I also play instruments a lot and the only one I'm pretty bad at is the electric guitar. I'm thinking about taking lessons when I get back home," I tell him. Everyone begins shoveling food onto their plates so I do the same.

"Oh, no need to wait until you get home! Austin can give you lessons. He's very good on the electric guitar!" he tells me.

"Dad!" I hear Austin say. I don't know if he's mad because he doesn't want to give me lessons or because he doesn't like his dad bragging about him.

"Oh, I've heard Austin play—" -Out of the corner of my eye, I see Austin whip his head around to look at me- "—and I agree that he is a very good musician but I don't think he… has the time to do that," I say.

"He's got all summer!" Mike says.

"He's also got friends to hang out with, right Austin?" I ask elbowing him softly.

"Yes, but they can wait for my _best _friend," he says elbowing me back. He takes a bite of his food. "We'll start your lessons tomorrow morning. Early," he whispers to me.

"Yay," I say sarcastically. The rest of dinner is full of conversation that I try to avoid. Austin kept nudging me the whole time, which was very, _very _annoying. When dinner was over, I went straight up to my room. I search my bag for my pajamas. I find my orange pair with black music notes on them and change into them. I put my songbook on the side table, slide into bed and drift into a dreamless sleep…

**Austin's POV:**

I hate insomnia. I usually don't have it. I usually can fall asleep, almost on command. But tonight, I could barely close my eyes. I wonder if Ally can't sleep either. I could… go and check, I guess. I climb out of my bed and walk outside my room. I turn to the right and walk until I reach Ally's room. I knock. No answer. I turn the knob and go ahead inside. Ally's asleep. But there's her songbook… I'm sure no one would mind if I had a little peek.

I turn to the latest page with writing. It's the song she sang earlier today. I flip a page back and see a _diary entry_… Hm…

_Dear Diary/Songbook,_

_I arrived in this hellhole called River Dale today. Excuse my language. Mimi is as beautiful as ever and she stills cooks like an iron chef. Those were the good things of the day I thought was going to be awful. But the highlight of my day was seeing a certain blonde-haired boy with chocolate brown eyes that in my heart, I've missed ever since I left this place. I miss how he used to come wake me up every morning and put a bright smile on my face. I miss how we used to walk around town and how we used to have wrestling matches. He's still very weird but... dare I say it? ... he's very... attractive now. He used to have a child's face as he was a child but now he's grown into his adult face. I better get back to bed. I need my rest. He's waking me up early for guitar lessons. Well, good night._

_Love, Ally_

Wow. She really thinks that about me?

"Austin… Austin…" Ally moans. I spin around but she's still asleep. Ah, so she's dreaming about me now, too. I put her songbook back on the side table and think about what I just read. I sit down on her bed. So she thinks I'm… _attractive_, huh? I close my eyes to soak it all in. Next thing I know, I'm asleep.

**Ally's POV:**

A heavy body basically falls on mine and I wake up.

"Wake up, Sleepy Head," a dreamy voice says to me. My eyes flutter open and see Austin's face inches away from mine. My breath catches in my throat for a second before I morph it back to normal.

"What?" I groan. I want to go back to bed. "I want to go back to bed," I tell him. "And get off of me!" He doesn't get off of me but he does lean back a little. This is when I notice… he's not wearing a shirt…

"Nice abs," I tell him smiling.

"Thanks," he says absorbing the compliment.

"Too bad they won't help at all," I tell him.

I give him time to understand it and when he finally says "What?" I use all my strength to flip him over off of my bed and onto the floor. I have him pinned for a minute before he flips me over to my back. I see his arm muscles bulging.

"Tap out!" I yell. He was starting to hurt my wrists. He was a little too strong. He stands up and holds out his hand. I take his hand for a second before dropping back to the floor.

"Stop shocking me!" I yell at him.

"Here, I'll just grab your wrists then," he says grabbing my wrists and pulling me up.

"Hey, we're wearing the same thing!" he exclaims. He's right. He's wearing orange pajama pants with black music notes all over them and I was wearing the same kind of pajamas. I follow him to his room and he hands me a bright red guitar with a white middle **(1)**.

"Ah, you remembered?" I ask.

"What? Your favorite color? Of course I do. I mean, you didn't change your favorite color, did you?" he asks. I shake my head.

"Nope."

He keeps the dark blue guitar with a lightning bolt down the front of it for himself.

"Okay, do you know _anything_?" he asks me. I play a solo that I heard once on a commercial.

"Where did you learn that?" he asks when I finish.

"Um, a commercial? I remembered it," I tell him.

"Oh. Well, it was really good. Good job, student. Lesson two," he says. I roll my eyes. He slips the guitar over his neck and lets it hang for a second. I slip my own over my neck and wait for instructions.

"E chord!" he yells out. I play the E chord.

"A chord!" And I play it.

"D chord!" he shouts.

"G chord!" I play it.

"B chord!" he yells. I play it.

"Last chord. Other E!" I play it and I'm done.

"You know, you don't have to yell!" I yell at him.

"No need to yell, Als," he says at a regular volume. "Okay do you see those black dots on the neck?" I nod. "They're called the fret board inlays. But I just call them the guide dots. Call them whatever. But I'm going to call them guide dots. Okay, place your middle finger on the top guide dot and strum. He demonstrates and I copy him. We do this with every guide dot.

"Okay, lesson's over for today," he tells me.

"Really?" I ask. "We've barely done anything." He shrugs.

"Fine, we'll do more tomorrow then," he tells me. "Can you go downstairs and get me a Coke?" he asks. I walk downstairs and see Mimi and Mike grabbing keys and kissing each other goodbye.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"Work," Mimi says.

"I'm taking your father to try to get a summer job," Mike says.

"So that means you and Austin will have the house to yourselves," Mimi says. She turns to me.

"Don't go in my closet," she says.

"Try not to make a mess," Mike tells me.

"Don't eat all the food," Mimi says.

"Don't drink all the liquids," Mike says.

"Don't let strangers in the house," Mimi says.

"And last of all, no funny business," they say together. I know what they mean. They mean Austin and me aren't allowed to… But that wouldn't happen anyway. We're just friends. I open the fridge and get the drink Austin wanted and I get a Mountain Dew for myself. When I get back upstairs, I throw his drink to him and open mine. He takes a long slurp of his and something occurs to me.

"Will you give me your tab from that can?" I ask.

"Yeah, why?" he asks.

"I collect them."

"Oh… Well, in that case…" He licks the whole top of the can. "Still want it?" he asks.

"Yep," I say laughing. He rolls his eyes and gives me the tab.

When I finish my can, I ask where his trash can is. He points to the floor. I look around and notice that his room is a total mess; maybe that's why his floor is a trash can to him.

"Never mind, I'll throw it away in my trash can," I tell him.

"Suit yourself," he says throwing his empty can on the floor. I walk to my room, take the tab off of the can, and throw the can away. Something seems… off about the room. I look around and notice something… My songbook: it's upside down on the side table instead of the other way around. Someone touched my book. My first thought is Austin but he wasn't in my room after I went to sleep… was he? I walk back to his room.

"What do we do now?" I ask.

"I don't know but I need to change clothes real quick. Hang on," he says.

"I do too," I tell him. He walks into his closet and I walk to my room. I change into a floral red skirt and a red shirt with black musical notes on it to match. I open my door and see Austin standing there in ripped jeans and a grey T-shirt.

"Come here," he says gesturing for me to follow him. At least he didn't try to take my hand. He takes me back to the Theremin.

"Play," he commands. I do as he says and play it. When I stop, he smiles.

"So what do you have planned for today?" I ask. He looks around.

"Hm... How about we go-?" He's cut off by the doorbell ringing. He sighs.

"Excuse me," he says turning around. I follow him down the stairs and to the door. He opens the door and I see a French woman standing there in tight black clothes.

"Oh... um, hi, Ms. Fournier, we'll have to skip my lesson today. I have-" She hits him over the head. "Ow!" he exclaims.

"Mr. Moon, you must not miss a lesson. You must keep yourself dancing or you could be ruined and never dance again!" she yells quickly in a thick French accent. He sighs. He starts speaking to her in French and I can't understand what he's saying. The woman yells back, also in French, turns on her heel and stomps off of his porch. Austin slams the door and sighs frustrated.

"Dieu, elle est tellement ennuyeux!" Austin yells.

"What?" I ask. "Who was that?" He shakes his head.

"That was just my teacher. She teaches me French and dance," he tells me.

"You can't dance? You used to dance all the time," I tell him.

"No, she teaches me how to, like, ballroom dance and stuff like that," he says annoyed. I can't help but laugh. "What?" he asks.

"Ballroom dance?" I ask. "You can do that?"

"I can now," he tells me. He leads me to a large room. This is probably where he dances with his teacher. He puts a CD in a CD player and presses a button. Slow music begins playing.

"May I have this dance?" he asks me bowing and holding out his hand.

"You may," I say taking his hand. Again, he shocks me but I ignore it. He holds our joined hands out and he puts his other hand on my hips. I put my own on his shoulder. We dance around the room. I let him lead since I can't dance. Suddenly, he tips me backwards and looks into my eyes smiling. I blink.

"S-so, what other dances do you know?" I ask when he doesn't bring me back up.

"Um, I can..." He brings me back up. "I can tango, waltz, swing, square dance. I know jazz, salsa, samba-"

"Is there anything you _can't _do?" I ask with a laugh. He thinks it over.

"I can't tap dance," he tells me. I roll my eyes.

"So, you were telling me what we were going to do today?" I ask.

"Oh, um... what do you wanna do?" he asks. I shrug.

"We could continue our lesson," I say questioningly.

"You really wanna learn how to play _that _bad?" he asks me. I nod.

"Yes, yes I do," I tell him smiling.

"Come on, it isn't even that hard. It's just like an acoustic guitar but... different," he says.

"Yeah, emphasis on 'different'," I tell him.

"It's not _that_ different," he says.

"Yeah, maybe not for you," I mutter.

"Alright, fine. Let's go finish your lesson," he finally agrees. We practice for hours.

"Ow!" Austin suddenly exclaims.

"What?" I ask worriedly putting the guitar down on the stand.

"Just a cramp," he tells me stretching his fingers. I walk over to him.

"Are you alright?" I ask.

"Ally, it's just a cramp. It's not like I broke my fingers," he tells me. "Stop worrying." His hand is all curled up from the cramp now.

"Here, lemme see your hand," I say taking his hand in mine. I swear Austin is made of electricity because he shocks me every time. I massage the palm of his hand until I hear him sigh.

"Feel better?" I ask still massaging. He nods smiling. I stop but I'm still holding his hand. It takes me a minute before I realize that though. I drop my hands to my side.

"Yeah, it was time for a break anyway," I say not looking at him. "See you in a bit?"

"Where are you going?" he asks.

"I'm gonna go sit on the porch," I tell him. I walk to my room, grab my songbook and walk outside. I sit on the porch swing and open my book. I hum a melody that comes into my mind. I look out and watch the sun get higher little by little.

"So, Ally," a voice says from beside me. I jump and throw my songbook in the air. Austin catches it. I try to snatch it away from him but pulls it out of my reach.

"Austin, don't touch my book! Give it back!" I yell trying to lean over him and take it back. He just puts his elbow on my chest and opens it.

"Don't you dare read it!" I warn him.

"I already know you think I'm attractive," he says absentmindedly flipping through the pages. My heart stops as do my arms. They drop to my sides and I sit up straight not caring that he has my book. He wasn't supposed to read that. I mean, it's not like I have a crush on him or anything. He's my best friend! But that's still a bit awkward. He looks over at me.

"Don't worry, Ally. I think you're pretty, too," he says turning his attention back to my book and flipping through the pages again. Suddenly, he stops on a page.

"So, who's this Dallas kid?" he asks.

"D-Dallas?" I ask. He nods. "Oh, he's... no one." I make another grab for it but he pulls it away from me.

"Is he your boyfriend?" he asks making kissy faces at me.

"No, he's just a crush," I mutter.

"Has he made a move on you? 'Cause I'll rough him up if he has," Austin tells me balling up a fist and waving it through the air playfully. I laugh and push his hand down.

"Don't worry, Austin... He barely even knows I exist," I grumble.

"Oh," he says but I could have sworn I heard some happiness to his tone. He hands me my book back.

"Thanks," I say to him. "Is your hand any better?" He nods.

"Yeah, let's, um, go finish your lesson," he tells me. I realize that we haven't been out here that long but I really like learning. He teaches me for a little while and we take breaks here and there then Austin stops me from playing. I look up.

"Ally, can I ask you a question?" he asks me. For some reason, my face heats up. Probably because he could ask me anything. What if it's a question about Dallas? Why am I getting so worked up over a silly question...?

**1. The guitar I'm basically talking about is the one Austin plays in the Austin & Ally theme song.**

**When Austin was talking in French, he said, "God, she is so annoying!" As you can tell (if you've read my other stories), I like the French language... XXxElement. .xXX, thanks for being my first reviewer! :D Anyway, review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	3. Chapter 3

**Laura: Kenzie, can I do the disclaimer again today? Pleeeeeease?!**

**Me: Okay, okay, do the disclaimer, Laura.**

**Laura: Kenzie doesn't own Austin & Ally nor any of the songs! Kenzie, I have a question.**

**Me: Yes, Laura?**

**Laura: What was Ross saying yesterday?**

**Ross: I didn't say anything! I just did the disclaimer, I swear!**

**Laura: Ross, this is _my_ disclaimer!**

**Me: Just ignore their argument and read the story.**

* * *

"What's so special about this Dallas kid?" he asks me._ That_ was the question? Nevertheless, I look up dreamily.

"He has hair that flops just the right way and kind eyes. And he's really tall and he's really sweet and.." I trail off realizing that Austin's staring at me.

"What?" I ask.

"You realize that you just described me, right?" he asks. "I have hair that flops just the right way-" He flips his hair "-I have kind eyes." He looks right into mine with this own. Then he stands up.

"I'm really tall and I'm really sweet. We even have the same kind of name," he says with a laugh.

"What? You two don't have the same name," I tell him.

"Austin; Dallas. They're both cities in Texas," he says with a roll of his eyes. "Duh." My face glows red realizing I _did_ just describe Austin. He looks up deep in thought.

"What?" I ask again. He looks at me and sits down. I take my guitar off and set it on the stand.

"Have you ever thought that maybe-just maybe-you like Dallas because he reminds you of me?" he asks. I blink. What the hell did he just say? He did not just say what I think he just said. I look at his face.

He's serious.

"Dallas has brown hair," I blurt out.

"One difference between him and I," he says indifferently. I look around and shake my head.

"It-it's highly unlikely," I say quietly. I lean forward and wrap him in a hug.

"Thanks for the lessons," I say quietly in his ear.

"Anytime, Ally-Cat," he whispers in mine. He has so many nicknames for me.

I have even more back home. Like, Allly (yes, with three L's. That's what Billl calls me), Ally-Gator (which is what Ms. Suzy, my old teacher, used to call me) and Ally itself is a nickname. My full name is Allyson but Austin decided to shorten it. I pull away from Austin and smile.

"So, anyway-" Austin starts.

"Austin!" Mimi calls from downstairs. When did she come home?

"Coming!" Austin calls back. "Stay right here. I'll be right back." He opens the door and walks out of the room. I look around his room at the many different instruments.

He's got electric guitars, acoustic guitars, pianos, trumpets, a set of drums, a few harmonicas, et cetera, et cetera. I look up at the ceiling and notice some pictures...

Pictures of me and him. They were all of the bad pictures. The pictures that were retaken. I thought these pictures were thrown away?  
Why are they on his ceiling? Are they there so he can lay in bed and look at them? Hm...

"I see you've found my shrine to you," a voice says behind me. I spin around and see Austin leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed.

"Y-your... shrine?" I ask. He walks over and takes his seat in front of me. He shakes his head.

"No, silly, I was just joking," he says with a chuckle.

"So what _are_ those doing up there?" I ask him. He shrugs casually.

"I missed ya, Als," he tells me.

"What do you mean?" I ask. That didn't exactly answer my question.

"I wanted to see you," he says. "And that was the only way I could." The look on his face is so sad. You'd think his favorite puppy died.

"Oh," I whisper. "I'm sorry." He shrugs again.

"N-no big deal," he says trying to sound like he doesn't care.

"Why'd you use all of the horrible pictures?" I ask him. He lets out a laugh.

"Those are the only ones my mom would let me have. She shoved all of the good ones in a scrapbook," he tells me shaking his head and laughing. The laugh and smile slowly fade as he thinks about something.

"Austin," I say snapping my fingers in front of his face.

"Huh? What? Oh, sorry," he says quickly.

"What were you thinking about?" I ask him.

"Nothing. Just how much I missed my best friend!" he exclaims as he swoops me up in his arms and spins me around.

"Austin, put me down!" I yell. I feel like I'm really, really high off the ground and I'm afraid of heights.

"Not until you tell me how awesome I am," he says. I bite my lip.

"You're as awesome as pancakes," I say nervously. I look down at the ground. It seems so far away.

"Aw, you really think so, Als?" he asks. "You're so sweet." He sets me down. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I take it out, press a button, and hold it up to my ear.

"Hello?" I ask. Austin stares at me while I talk.

"ALLY!" Trish shouts in my ear.

"Yes, Trish?" I ask.

"Get on video chat, right now!" she yells.

"Alright, alright, gosh," I say. "Hang on just a second." I walk to my room and Austin follows me. He sits beside me on my bed. I lean over to the other side and pick my suitcase up off of the floor.

"Hurry up!" Trish exclaims.

"I'm hurrying as fast as I can, Trish," I tell her. I open my laptop and power it on. I type in my password, making sure Austin doesn't see, and open ooVoo. Dallas' name is my password which is why I didn't want Austin to see. Trish is my only friend online. She's also my only friend period... I click on the call button and Trish picks up after two rings.

"ALLY!" she shouts again. I hang up the phone.

"What's so important?" I ask.

"I needed to see my best friend! Duh!" she tells me.

"Well, here I am," I say.

"Ooh, who's your sexy boyfriend?" Trish asks. I notice that she can see Austin. He smirks. Wait a minute, did she just say _my sexy boyfriend_?

"Trish, he's not mine and he's not sexy nor my boyfriend," I say rolling my eyes and ruffling Austin's hair. "He's just my best friend."

"Hey, I _am _sexy, thank you very much," Austin says to me. I roll my eyes.

"Don't think you can replace _me_," Trish warns Austin.

"Actually, _you _replaced _me_," Austin tells her. "Ally and I were best friends before she even moved to Miami." I roll my eyes.

"Anyway, what's up, Trish?" I ask her.

"Oh, nothing much," she says shrugging. "What about you? What's going on in River Dale?"

"Nothing really. I don't think I've even left the house. Austin's been giving me guitar lessons," I say pointing to him. I look at the scene behind her. She's at the food court.

"Trish, aren't you supposed to be helping Jeremy watch Sonic Boom?" I ask interrogatively. She looks around.

"I am at Sonic Boom!" she exclaims.

"You're at the food court," I tell her. She closes her laptop ending the call.

"Well, that was odd," I tell Austin. Before I know it, Trish is calling back. I accept it. Trish is now at Sonic Boom.

"See, I told you I was at Sonic Boom," she tells me. I see a mess of brown hair enter the screen.

"Oh, hi, Jeremy," I say with a smile. "How's it going at Sonic Boom? Since Trish obviously doesn't know."

"Oh, it's going good. Business is flowing. The usual," he says. Trish shoves him away. Austin's eyes are moving around the screen.

"Yeah, I _definitely _need to go there next summer," he whispers.

"You better," I tell him with a smile.

"Hello, welcome to Sonic Boom," Jeremy says to someone we can't see. "Yes, that's a fine instrument. And we do have other colors in the back. Can my assistant go get you one?"

"Assistant? I don't think so. I have to go, Ally. You may be losing an employee soon," she says.

"Wait, Trish!" I yell but she ends the call. I sigh.

"So what can we do now?" I ask closing my laptop and moving it to the side.

"We can go swim in the pool," Austin says.

"You have a pool?" I ask. He nods.

"Yep, we got it installed last year," he tells me. I rummage through my suitcase to make sure I have a swimsuit. I pull out the first one I see.

"Yeah, I'm not wearing a bikini," I mutter to myself throwing the purple monster on the bed.

"A bikini, huh?" Austin asks.

"I'm not wearing that," I tell him looking for my other one.

"Why not?" he asks jokingly. I roll my eyes.

"I'm a bit more insecure than you might think," I say quietly.

"Insecure?" he asks. "I can't see you being insecure."

"Well, I am," I snap.

"My bad," Austin says. I pull out my other swimsuit which is a red tank top and shorts made like a swimsuit. I throw that on my bed, too and shove the bikini back in.

"I don't see why you have a bikini if you're not going to wear it," Austin says as I turn around. I shrug. Suddenly, he grabs my swimsuit.

"What are you doing?" I ask trying to take it back. He puts it inside his jeans.

"I don't care how insecure you are. You're wearing that bikini," he says. And with that, he turns and walks out of my room. I pull my bikini back out and sigh. I close my door, slip it on, and look in the mirror. Gosh, look how bony I am. I turn around to look at my back side. It looks even worse from the back. Eh, Austin won't care. He's my best friend. I walk outside my door slowly. I walk down the stairs.

"Oh, hello, Ally. Going for a dip, I see," Mimi says.

"Yeah," I tell her. I continue to the back of the house. The sliding door is open but I don't see Austin outside. I walk outside. The air is pretty warm. I look around and put my toe in the sparkling blue pool. It's freezing!

"Sexy," I hear someone say playfully behind me. I whirl around to see Austin right behind me wearing lime green swim trunks. He pushes me into the freezing cold water. I hold my breath as I go under.

"Austin, this water is f-f-f-freezing!" I yell at him when I emerge, my teeth chattering. He jumps over me into the pool.

"It's not that cold," he says when he comes up. I hold my breath and go underwater trying to get used to the temperature. I go and sit on the bottom of the deep pool. Once the water is pretty warm, I surface behind Austin.

"Boo," I whisper in his ear. He jumps, water flying everywhere. He turns around to face me.

"Geez, Ally!" Austin yells flipping his hair out of his face and splashing me.

"Oh, you really wanna go there?" I ask splashing him back. We splash each other until we hear the sliding door close. I look behind Austin and see a red headed boy about Austin's height standing there.

"Yo, Dez, what up?!" Austin asks swimming to the edge of the pool. I follow behind him and rest my elbows on the edge.

"The sky," Dez says. I see Austin roll his eyes.

"Well, come on in! The water's fine!" Austin exclaims floating on his back.

"Gladly!" Dez yells. He strips down to his boxers and jumps into the pool. I notice that Dez is _extremely _pale.

"Dude, you could've went and got some swim trunks," Austin says quietly to Dez.

"Why?" Dez asks. Austin jerks his head in my direction.

"Dez, this is Ally. Ally, this is Dez," Austin introduces us.

"Oh, I know her," Dez says.

"You do?" I ask.

"Yeah, Austin talks about you all the time," Dez says.

"Dez!" Austin says through clenched teeth. "Shut up!"

"Oh, uh..." Dez trails off. He goes underwater. I flip my hair over my shoulder and lean back against the edge. I watch the two doofuses chase each other around the pool.

"I brought snacks," Mimi says happily setting a tray full of sandwiches down on the table. Austin and Dez jump out of the pool and run to the tray.

"You might want to hurry before they're all gone," Mimi says to me.

"I'm not that hungry," I tell her. It's a few seconds before the boys have finished two sandwiches. They go to jump back in the pool but Mimi stops them.

"Ah, ah, ah. You have to wait an hour before you go swimming again," Mimi tells them and I smirk.

"But, Mom!" Austin whines.

"Austin, you heard me. You two have to wait or you'll get bad stomach cramps," she tells them. "Ally, keep an eye on them, will you?"

"Will do, Mimi," I say giving her a four-fingered salute. She smiles and walks back inside. As soon as she is out of sight, Austin jumps into the pool. He swims over to me.

"You won't tell, right?" he asks as Dez jumps in, too.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," I say slyly. "Oh, Mi-!" He cuts me off by putting his hand over his mouth.

"Meanie," he mutters as he climbs out of the pool. Dez follows him out. Austin sits beside me and puts his feet in the pool. Dez just walks around the perimeter of the pool.

"So, Ally," Austin says looking down at me. I look up at him.

"Now that you've met Dez, what do you think of him?" he asks. I shrug.

"He seems really nice," I say.

"Wait until you get to know him," he tells me.

"What do you mean?" I ask. He points over at Dez. I look up and he's stopped walking. He's trying to climb a tree branch that hangs over into the fencing around the pool. He grabs onto it and falls to the ground.

"I will get you, you stupid little squirrel!" he yells into the tree. "Gimme back my nut!"

"Dez, you never had a nut," Austin tells him.

"I found it on the ground, Austin!" Dez whines. I roll my eyes. He throws something at the tree and the squirrel falls out of it twitching. I jump out of the pool and run over to them as fast as I can.

"Dez, what did you do?!" I ask.

"I hit him with a rock!" he yells proudly. I stand on tiptoes and hit him upside the head.

"Are you crazy?" I ask him. He thinks about it.

"Yes," he answers. I roll my eyes and pick the squirrel up. It seems fine. It jumps out of my hands and over the fence.

"Aw, it's so cute!" I exclaim is it scampers away. I turn around and dive back into the pool.

"Okay, now you're just taunting us," Austin says as I float on my back.

"Oh, am I?" I ask sarcastically.

"Forget you," he says.

"What do you mean?" I ask confused. He doesn't answer and jumps into the water. As he hits the water, he grabs my hand and pulls me under.

"Ow-!" I yell for he shocked me yet again. He pulls me to the bottom of the pool. I try to swim back to the top but he doesn't allow me to.

"Austin, let me go!" My speech is garbled and bubbles rise to the surface. He just shakes his head. His hair looks so soft right now... Hair always looks softer underwater for some reason... I have to resist the urge to go over and touch it. I tear my eyes away from his hair. I point to my throat and Austin pulls me to the surface.

"Are you gonna tell?" he asks playfully keeping a grip on me. I roll my eyes.

"No, I won't tell. I love you too much," I tell him with a laugh. Wait a minute, what did I just say? "As a friend," I blurt out. He gives me a look. I splash him in the face and swim to the edge of the pool. He follows me. He puts his arms on either side of me.

"You love me!" he teases.

"I do not!" I exclaim. "Boys have cooties!" We both laugh.

"You love me, you love me, you love me, you love me!" he chants.

"Shut up!" I yell. "You have cooties!"

"I do not have cooties! Girls have cooties!" he says. Suddenly, his face turns serious.

"You just said that you loved me..." he says quietly.

"As a friend," I correct him. And with that, I submerge myself into the water and swim away from him.

* * *

"This was a lovely dinner, Mimi," my dad says swallowing his last bite.

"Thank you, Lester," she says. Dinner was full of conversation as it was last night. Austin kept trying to start one with me but it was quickly dropped. It was rather awkward at the pool earlier today. I didn't mean to say it. It just kind of slipped out. And I _do _love him as a friend and only as a friend.

"It really was delicious," I second my dad wiping my mouth with my napkin.

"Thank you, Ally," she says smiling at my dad and I. "Austin, would you like to help me wash the dishes?"

"No, ma'am, I wouldn't," he says.

"Austin," Mimi warns.

"I'll do it," I say with a smile.

"Oh, Ally, you don't have to. Austin will do it," she says.

"No, no, I want to," I tell her. Everyone leaves the table and Mimi and I stand up. We collect the dishes and bring them to the kitchen.

"So how are you liking your stay here so far?" Mimi asks me.

"It's going really well. I've missed this place," I tell her. We put the food down the garbage disposal.

"What's with those pictures on Austin's ceiling?" I ask. He didn't give me a complete answer.

"When you all moved, he was hoping you'd come back the next summer to at least visit. He counted down the days and everything. But when you didn't come or even call, he cried all day and night. He went from sad to angry. The next day, he wouldn't come out of his room and he yelled at everyone who tried to come in. He had a lot of anger for a little nine-year-old. That night, he got all of the pictures that he could find that had you in them and put them on his ceiling above his bed. He prayed every night that you would come back the next summer or call or _something_," she explains to me giving me a plate to dry. "You should have seen the look on his face when I told him you two were coming to visit." She smiles at the memory.

"I didn't realize that we had this effect on him," I say quietly drying the plate and putting it on the drying rack. We wash the rest of the dishes and I walk upstairs. I hesitate. I poke my head back into Austin's room, hoping he's up. He's lying on his bed with one hand behind his head looking up at the ceiling.

"Hey, Austin?" I ask. He looks up. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asks.

"For not coming back," I say quietly closing the door.

**Hey, everybody. Sorry for not updating yesterday and updating so late today. I'll try to get caught up tomorrow. Review?**

**Love, Kenzie**


	4. Chapter 4

**Me: Raini, do you want to do the disclaimer? Since these two don't want to stop arguing. *points to Laura and Ross***

**Ross And Laura: We aren't arguing!**

**Raini: Of course I'll do it, Kenzie. Kenzie doesn't own Austin & Ally or most of the songs. She only owns the story line... or the plot... Isn't that the same thing? Anyway, there's something special in the beginning of the chapter. It's really cute even though it's accidental. Well, I think it's cute. *****smiles***

* * *

I dreamt about Austin last night... again... Um... long story short: we were running through a meadow and then we kissed. What is wrong with me? It's like we were friends forever and then I leave and I come back and suddenly, boom, I'm in love with him? No, it doesn't work that way. I'm sorry but it just doesn't. I climb out of bed and throw some clothes on. I walk downstairs and the smell of eggs and bacon hits my nose. Everyone smiles at me as I walk into the kitchen.

"Ah, she's alive," my dad says.

"What time is it?" I ask shoveling food onto my plate.

"It's around ten," Austin tells me.

"Isn't that a bit early for you to be waking up?" I ask sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Ally, it's Saturday. I gotta get a move on my plans," he says scarfing down a pancake almost whole. I raise my eyebrows at his eating.

"Slow down," I tell him smiling. "You're gonna choke." He rolls his eyes at me and glances at his phone.

"Ooh, I'm gonna be late!" he yells. He stands up.

"Bye, Dad. Bye, Lester. Bye, Mom," he says giving her a kiss on the cheek. He moves a little to the left.

"Bye, Als," he says kissing me on the cheek. He gasps at what he just did and drops his jacket. My mouth falls open and my cheeks redden.

"Um... uh... uh... S-s-s-!" he says thrashing his arms around **(1)**. He picks his phone up which he dropped. "S-sorry, Ally!" he yells running out the door. Mimi moves over to Austin's seat and leans over towards my dad and Mike.

"Forget earlier. I've got forty bucks on it now," she says quietly to them. I think she thought that I wouldn't hear.

"M-Mimi, are you _gambling_?" I ask her. She shakes her head.

"No," she tells me quickly taking a bite of her bacon. I push my eyebrows together in confusion. I wonder what the bet is about... I push the thought out of my mind though and finish my breakfast.

"So, what are you going to do today?" Mimi asks me sipping her orange juice. I shrug.

"I guess I'm just gonna walk around town," I tell her. I stand up and wash my plate. I run up to my room and get my songbook and my phone.

"Have a good day, Ally," Mimi calls after me.

"You too!" I call back as I walk out the door. I walk to town and look around for a place to just sit around at. I notice a park bench and I sit down there. I look down to my book.

_Dear Diary/Songbook,_

_Breakfast this morning was so awkward. You don't even know. Austin kissed me! On the cheek of course but still! What in the world?! It was probably because he got used to kissing his mom in two seconds or something like that. Does that make any sense? Oh, well. It makes sense to me. And you don't have to understand because you're just a book... I DIDN'T JUST SAY THAT. I AM SO SORRY. I didn't mean it. You know I love you. And-_

I look up because I sense a presence beside me. I look over and see a brown-haired boy peeking over my shoulder at my book. I slam it shut.

"Can I help you?" I ask.

"You could kiss me," he tells me.

"Um, you might have to find someone else to do that," I say. He puts his arm around me.

"Look, babe-"

"Don't call me babe," I warn him. I don't like it when anyone calls me babe.

"Well, tell me your name then," he says.

"Ally," I say.

"Look, Ally, we should date. You're a hot girl. I'm a hot guy. Together, we make a perfect match," he tells me. A group of boys near the back of the bench.

"You realize that we don't know each other, right?" I ask him.

"We could change that," he says shrugging. I hear one of the boys' voice drop out of the conversation behind us.

"I don't know _your _name," I tell him.

"Luke," he tells me.

"Maybe we could date when we know each other better," I suggest.

"Why can't we just date now?" he asks. He's getting very annoying.

"Because we barely know each other," I tell him.

"I told you. We can change that," he says leaning closer to me. I try to move away but I'm at the end of the bench.

"Luke, I have to get home," I lie to him.

"Just kiss me first," he tells me tapping his lips.

"I'm not gonna kiss you," I say trying to get out from under his arm but his grip on my shoulder is too strong.

"Where are you trying to go, babe?" he asks.

"Don't call me babe," I repeat.

"Sorry, Ally," he says.

"Will you please let me leave?" I ask.

"You gotta give me a kiss first," he says annoyed.

"No," I decline him.

"What? Do you have a boyfriend or something?" he asks.

"No, I don't but-"

"Hey, Ally," one of the boys say behind us. Austin walks around to the front of the bench.

"Dude. Cock block much?" Luke asks him.

"Cock block?" Austin asks. "What? Are you trying to make a move on her?" Luke rolls his eyes and nods.

"Yes, you idiot," Luke says.

"Dude, why are you trying to make a move on my girlfriend?" Austin asks him.

"What?" Luke and I ask simultaneously.

"That's not cool, man," Austin says pulling me out from under Luke's arm. He rests his own around my shoulders.

"Didn't you just say you didn't have a boyfriend?" Luke asks me.

"Does this mean you want to break up?" Austin asks with a look of shock on his face.

"No, um, I'm sorry, Austin. I only said that because... you're extremely protective over me?" I say.

"Yeah, that's true. You better not try to make a move on my girlfriend again," Austin tells Luke.

"Please, what are you gonna do about it if I do?" Luke asks cockily. Austin lets go of me and lifts Luke up by his shirt.

"Do you really want to go there?" he asks Luke bringing back his fist.

"N-n-no!" Luke yells.

"I didn't think so. Now run along, little boy," Austin says. Luke runs away.

"You're welcome," Austin tells me.

"Thanks but... you could have just told him that I wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend," I say.

"Wouldn't that be lying?" he asks sarcastically.

"Didn't you just lie?" I ask also sarcastically.

"Yes, but... shut up, Ally," he snaps. "I'm allowed to lie."

"Oh, what makes you allowed to lie that doesn't... make me... allowed to lie?" I ask. I hope that made sense to him...

"The fact that I'm older than you," he tells me.

"Actually, _I'm _older than _you_," I tell him.

"Okay, then the fact that I'm younger than you," he says. I roll my eyes.

"Hey, I'm sorry about kissing you earlier," he tells me. I shrug.

"It's no big deal," I say. It's a huge deal!

"Awesome, see you later?" he asks me.

"See you later," I confirm. He walks back over to his friends and I sit back down on the bench.

_I'll never call you just a book again, I promise. Anyway, so there was this boy trying to get me to kiss him and Austin came up and told him I was his girlfriend. That was very sweet of him, wasn't it? I think so. But he could have said I wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend, right? I'm just going to try to write a song right now, okay? Okay._

_Love, Ally_

I try to think of some lyrics but none come to mind. Oh, don't tell me I have writer's block. Please, please, please. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket.

"Hello?" I answer it.

"Ally, I have a surprise for you!" Trish says in a sing-song voice.

"Trish, you know I hate surprises. Just tell me," I say.

"Nope!" she exclaims then she hangs up the phone. Great, now she's got me in suspense. I try calling back a few times but she rejects each call. I groan and shove my phone in my pocket. Now I want to know what she's got cooked up. Austin's voice behind me slowly fades away.

_I hate surprises._

The underline almost tore a hole in my book.

"I'm sorry," I whisper smoothing the hole. There's now black ink on my fingers. I wipe it off on my jeans. Now there's a big smudge on them.

"Nice going, Ally," I mutter to myself. I stand up to walk back to the house.

"Ally!" someone exclaims. I spin around and see Austin.

"Oh, hi, Austin. What is it?" I ask.

"What's up? Where you going?" he asks.

"Back to the house, why?" I ask.

"You should come hang with me and my friends," he says. "I would have invited you to join us earlier but they were being idiots."

"Um, I have to go... change my pants," I tell him quietly.

"What'd you do? Wet your pants?" he asks laughing.

"No, I smeared ink on them," I say gesturing to my thigh.

"Oh, okay, how about after?" he asks.

"Yeah, sure, I guess so," I say unenthusiastic.

"What's wrong?" he asks me.

"I hate surprises," I mutter.

"Who has a surprise for you?" he asks.

"Trish. She called me and told me that she had a surprise for me tonight and when I asked what it was, she wouldn't tell me then she hung up on me," I tell him.

"Oh, that sucks," he says.

"Yeah, I know. I'll see you in a bit," I say turning and walking to the house. I walk up the stairs and slip off my pants and into a skirt. I put my phone in my boot and walk downstairs. Ooh, I almost forgot my book! I run back upstairs and into my room. I pick it up and walk outside my door. I notice that Austin's door is open. I walk inside quietly and lean against the wall beside the door. I look up at his 'shrine' as he calls it.

I really feel bad now that I know the story behind it. I mean, he was really, really sad then he was mad at me. And he still continues to act as if I never left now that I'm here. Maybe he still _is _mad at me deep down inside. Probably. I know I would be.

I sigh and leave his room. I walk downstairs, out the door, and back to town.

"Als! I was hoping you didn't get lost!" Austin jokes as I walk back up to him.

"Yeah, well I made it," I tell him with a weak smile.

"Are you still upset about the surprise?" he asks.

"Yes," I lie to him. Badly.

"That isn't it," he tells me. "You're upset about something else. What is it, Ally-Cat?"

"It's nothing," I tell him. He still knows I'm lying.

"We're talking about this later," he says putting his arm around my shoulders. He leads me over to his group of friends.

"Ally, this is Smith, Taylor, John, Aaron, and you already know Dez," he introduces me pointing to them all as he says their name. "Guys, this is Ally."

"Ooh, is she your girlfriend?" the boy whose name I think is Taylor says making kissy faces at Austin. He reminds me of how Austin was yesterday. Austin takes his arm off of my shoulders.

"No, she's just my friend," Austin says. He sounds a bit disappointed though like he _wants _me to be his girlfriend. I push this thought to the back of my mind. I look over at Dez who is distracted by something behind Austin and I. Suddenly, he forces himself between Austin and I and chases after something.

"Dez, what are you doing?" Austin yells.

"This is that squirrel who took my nut! I'm gonna get it back!" Dez shouts back to us. I roll my eyes. That could be any squirrel. The squirrel runs back in our direction. Dez stops in front of us and picks up a rock. My eyes widen. He pulls his arm back. I grab it out of his hand and he throws the rock even though it isn't in his hand anymore. He looks down at his hand.

"Aw, man! The squirrel took my rock, too!" he whines. "Austin, get my nut back!" He points at the squirrel running away and stomps his feet.

"Dez, I'll get you a new nut, alright?" Austin asks.

"But that one was special!" Dez exclaims.

"Why was it special, Dez?" Austin asks.

"Because I found it in your backyard," Dez answers quietly.

"We can find you a new one later, alright?" he asks.

"Fine," Dez says grumpily. Austin, his friends and I spend the rest of the day together. They're really fun people. Austin and I walk home alone.

"So... what were you upset about earlier?" he asks breaking the awkward silence.

"Oh, it's nothing you need to worry about, Austin. I promise," I tell him.

"Well, it may not be something I _need _to worry about but I worry about it anyway," he says.

"Austin, it's nothing. Can we talk about something else now?" I ask.

"Sure... uh... you ready for that surprise tonight?" he asks me. My eyes widen and I stop walking.

"I almost forgot about that!" I exclaim. I take out my phone and call Trish. I continue walking as I talk to her.

"Hello?" she answers.

"Trish, what was the surprise?!" I ask excitedly. I get excited about surprises when they're close. Conflicting, huh?

"Get on ooVoo," she tells me. We hang up.

"Austin, come on!" I exclaim taking his hand and running the rest of the way home. I've gotten used to the electric shock by now.

"Hey, everybody!" I yell as we run through the living room.

"Hey, Ally. Hey, Austin," they all say scattered. Austin and I run up the stairs to my room. I put my laptop on the bed, sign in and open ooVoo.

"Dallas?" Austin asks with a smirk on his face. Darn, he saw my password.

"Shut up," I snap calling Trish. When she answers, I don't see Trish's face. No, I see Dallas' face. My heart stops.

"Ally!" he exclaims. "How are you?" I can't speak. I just stare at the screen. I open my mouth but no sound comes out so I just close it again.

"Ally?" Dallas asks. I blink.

"Oh, hi, D-Dallas, I-I wasn't expecting to see you. I was expecting t-to see... Trish," I say as her head enters the screen.

"Do you like my surprise? I asked him if he wanted to talk to you and he said yes!" she exclaims.

"Trish, you could have told me that I was going to be talking to Dallas!" I whisper-yell into my laptop. She shrugs.

"So how are you?" Dallas asks when Trish moves out of the way.

"I-I'm good. H-how are you?" I ask him.

"I'm good too. It's sad not seeing you pass by the cellphone accessory cart everyday," he tells me. I blush.

"Aw, it's sad not passing by the cellphone accessory cart everyday to see you," I say.

"When are you coming back?" he asks.

"I won't be back until the end of summer," I say sadly.

"Oh, well that's a bummer," he tells me and we both laugh.

"This is Dallas?" Austin asks. I forgot he was even in here.

"Yeah, that's Dallas. Dallas, this is Austin," I introduce them. Austin has a weird look on his face. Dallas has the same one.

"Well, it was nice meeting you," Austin tells Dallas then he leaves my room and shuts the door behind him. What was _that_?

"Okay then..." I say. "So, w-what's up, Dallas?"

"Nothin' much. Just talking to you," he tells me smiling.

"Oh! C-cool!" I say.

"What's up with you?" he asks.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just talking to you," I say laughing.

"So are you enjoying... that place that you're at?" he asks.

"Oh, yeah! River Dale is awesome!" I tell him. "You should come here sometime. The sun is always shining and the people are really nice."

"Like Miami? Minus the nice people?" he jokes.

"I could think of some very nice people in Miami," I tell him blushing. His cheeks turn red too. That's so adorable! Oh, my gosh! He looks at his watch.

"I've gotta go, Ally. My shift is over. I'll talk to you later," he says.

"Bye, Dallas," I say dreamily.

"Bye, Ally," he says. He gets up and leaves. He has a very short shift unless it started before we started talking.

"Gosh, talk about a short shift," Trish says sitting down in front of her laptop. "Oh, that reminds me. I have to go too. My shift at the ice cream shop is almost over."

"Aren't you supposed to be working at Sonic Boom?" I ask.

"Yeah, Jeremy fired me. He was doing all the work by himself anyway so..." she trails off. "Bye, Ally!" She shuts her laptop and I lean back against the headboard of my bed. I need to talk to Austin. I walk to his room and hear distorted chords coming from a piano. I knock on the door and open it. He turns his head toward the door quickly.

"Is there something you need?" he asks turning his attention back to the piano before him.

"I just wanted to know what that was all about," I say.

"You wanted to know what what was about?" he asks.

"You just left and you could've stayed and talked. You had a look on your face like Dallas was the evillest person in the world," I tell him. He shakes his head and shrugs.

"You never answered my question so why should I answer yours?" he asks. I sigh.

"I felt bad," I tell him.

"About what?" he asks.

"About not coming back. For making you cry for a full day! For making you angry at me! I'm sorry!" I yell. Tears well up in my eyes.

"Ally, you're here now. That's all that matters," he says pulling me into his arms. He rests his chin on top of my head and I bury my head in his chest.

"Shh," he says. "It's alright." He caresses my hair in an attempt to make me stop crying.

"No, Austin, it's _not _alright! I should have come back. I should have _tried _to make contact with you," I say. He looks down at me and I look up at him.

"Ally, I'm the happiest I've been in six years. This summer is gonna be the best one ever. It _is _alright," he tells me. I sniffle and sigh.

"O-okay," I say quietly. We just stare into each other's eyes for a moment. Then...

"Austin! Ally! Dinner's ready!" Mimi calls from downstairs.

"Tell her I'm not that hungry," I say, detaching myself from Austin's warmth. And I'm not that hungry really. Even though I haven't eaten since breakfast. He nods and walks downstairs. I glance at the pictures on his ceiling once more before leaving his room. Aw, dang it! I didn't get an answer from him. Again! He just knows how to avoid a question, doesn't he?

**1. Think about when he yelled "THERE'S A LEAK IN THE BOAT!" in Everglades & Allygators but a little less dramatic and reread that. Lol, he was hurrying to leave so... ;)**

**Anyway, sorry it's late tonight. I was really behind on homework so I had to finish that. Anyway, review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	5. Chapter 5

**Me: Calum?**

**Calum: Me? Really?! Awesome! Kenzie doesn't own Austin & Ally or any of the songs... You know, I think it'd be really cool to be Dez...**

**Me: Calum, you _are _Dez.**

**Calum: no, I mean, like, wouldn't it be cool to actually be him? Like, if he wasn't a character and he was a real person?**

**Me: Yeah, that would be pretty cool... Calum, aren't you forgetting something?**

**Calum: ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Oh, yeah! AusllyShipperR5, Kenzie wanted me to give you a shoutout... SO SHOUTOUUUUUUUUT TO AUSLLYSHIPPERR5! WHOO!**

* * *

Last night, no one came to ask me why I wasn't going to eat dinner. And I didn't have any more dreams about Austin so that was good. I still want to get an answer from him. I won't answer any serious questions of his until he answers mine. I stand up and walk out my door. I turn and hear music from Austin's room. I press my ear against his door.

_You're insecure_

_Don't know what for_

_You're turnin' heads when you walk through the door_

_Don't need makeup_

Is Austin... _writing a song_? I thought he said he couldn't... Suddenly, Austin opens the door.

"I wasn't eavesdropping!" I exclaim. "Oh, wait, you didn't ask..."

"Hi, Ally," Austin says rubbing his eyes and walking past.

"Uh, Austin, are you forgetting something?" I ask. He's not wearing pants... or a shirt which I'm completely fine with... He's only wearing boxers with... trucks on them? He looks down.

"Oh," he shrugs, "It's my house. Who's gonna see?" He continues walking down the hall.

"Austin, wait," I say. He keeps walking. I grab his shoulder, turn him around and look at his eyes.

"Did you get _any _sleep last night?" I ask. He has bags under bags under bags under bags under his eyes. He shrugs and turns back around.

"Austin, go to sleep!" I order pointing to his bedroom.

"I'm not tired," he murmurs. He walks forward and runs straight into the wall.

"The stupid wall can teleport," he mutters scratching his forehead. I don't want to let him get to the stairs because he might fall down them. I run in front of him and push him back towards his room.

"Ally, I told you. I'm not tired," he says with a yawn.

"Austin, you're going to get in that bed and you're going to get some sleep," I command. "Now march!" He starts walking to his room. He slips under his covers and I tuck him in.

"Hey, Austin?" I ask.

"Yes, Ally?" he asks.

"You never answered my question yesterday," I tell him. Maybe I'll get an answer since he's so tired. Or maybe I'll get a crazy answer since he's so tired...

"Which one?" he asks.

"Why did you give Dallas that dirty look then leave my room?" I ask him.

"Because I love you," he murmurs sleepily. Then he's gone.

_That was the sleepiness talking, I just know it_... I pull his covers up to his chin and tuck him in again.

* * *

Austin said he loved me... I shake my head to clear the thought and continue my backstroke across the pool.

"What's cookin', good lookin'?" I hear a voice ask me. My head snaps up and I see Austin kneeling by the edge of the pool.

"Austin! You're awake!" I exclaim. He looks around.

"No, I'm sleep walking," he says sarcastically. I roll my eyes.

"What's the last thing you remember?" I blurt out.

"Um, you tucking me into bed?" he says.

"You don't remember anything you said after?" I ask. He shakes his head. I breathe a sigh of relief.

"I guess not... Wait, what did I say?" he asks.

"Nothing," I say almost convincingly. Almost.

"Come on, tell me what I said," he whines.

"No," I say mocking his tone. I grab his hand and pull him into the pool even though he's fully clothed.

"Ally!" Austin exclaims. I smirk.

"Aw, did I do that?" I ask. "Darn..." He rolls his eyes and flips his hair.

"So, Ally, you wanna go see a movie later?" he asks smiling. Hey, I avoided his question! ... But it brought me right back to mine...

"Uh, w-what did you have in mind?" I ask. Let's test out my theory.

"That new movie. I think it's called... House At The End Of The Street," he says questioningly. A scary movie, huh? A perfect opportunity for me to hide my head in his chest. Typical guy move... Hey, wait a minute... His chest...

"Sure," I say. I wonder if he'll try to kiss me... I guess we'll see.

"Awesome, we can catch the late show then," he tells me. I laugh. _The late show..._

"Well, I'm gonna... change clothes since these are... wet," he says.

"Oh, now _you're _the one who wet your pants," I tease.

"Actually, _you're _the one who wet _my _pants," he says.

"I don't remember peeing in your pants," I joke. He rolls his eyes again. He climbs out of the pool and I continue swimming. I begin singing my favorite He Is We song.

_You_

_Got me caught_

_In all this mess_

_I guess_

_We can blame it on the rain_

_My pain_

_Is knowing_

_I can't have you_

_I can't have you_

_Tell me_

_Does she_

_Look at you the way I do?_

_Try to understand the words you say and the way you move?_

_Does she get the same big rush_

_When you go in for a hug_

_And your cheeks brush?_

_Tell me am I crazy?_

_Am I crazy?_

_I catch my breath_

_The one you took_

_The moment you entered_

_The room_

_My heart, it breaks_

_At the thought_

_Of her_

_Holding you_

_Does she_

_Look at you the way I do?_

_Try to understand the words you say and the way you move?_

_Does she get the same big rush_

_When you go in for a hug_

_And your cheeks brush?_

_Tell me am I crazy?_

_Or is this more_

_Than a crush?_

_Maybe I'm alone in this_

_But I find peace in solitude knowing_

_If I had but just one kiss_

_This whole room_

_Would be glowing_

_We'd be glowing_

_We'd be glowing_

_Tell me, does she_

_Look at you the way I do?_

_Try to understand the words you say_

_And the way you move?_

_Does she get the same big rush_

_When you go in for a hug and your cheeks brush?_

_Tell me_

_Am I crazy?_

_Or is this-?_

I look up because I hear something. Austin sitting at the edge of the pool in shorts and a t-shirt now. He even has his feet dangling in the pool. I didn't even notice him at first...

"You have such a beautiful voice," he says breathlessly. I blink. Now almost everything he says makes him sound like a flirt. Why did he have to tell me that he loved me?

"I'm sorry. That was awkward," he tells me. I still haven't said a word.

"Ally?" he asks. I shake my head.

"Sorry, um, thanks," I say.

"Anytime," he says. I swim over to him.

"So, what do you wanna do?" he asks. The usual routine. The routine that's become a usual in just a few days.

"I don't know. What do you wanna do?" I ask. He laughs.

"I don't know. What do you wanna do?" he asks. I laugh too.

"Austin!" Mimi calls from the door. He twists his torso.

"Yes, Mom?" he asks. The color drains out of his face when he sees who's with Mimi. It's his dance teacher. He groans and stands up.

"Mom, can't I just not dance for the summer? Ally's here if you haven't noticed," he says. His teacher walks over and smacks him on the head. "Ow!"

"Mr. Moon, you must-"

"I know, I know. I must keep myself dancing," he says mocking her French accent. He sighs. "Can we just get this over with?"

"Oui," she answers. She leads him through the house to the big room Austin and I danced in as if she's the one who lives there and not him. I follow them.

"Now, let's review!" she says. She turns on some fast, upbeat music. "Salsa!" She claps her hands and puts them in the position. This should be good.

"Ally, do you mind... not watching this?" Austin asks putting his hands in the correct position too.

"Aw, Austin, that'd ruin the fun, now wouldn't it?" I ask. He sighs. It was funny watching him salsa with his teacher. That was just... wow. I wish I'd had my phone with me.

"Very good, Mr. Moon," she says but she hits him over the head, "but you messed up on _ze_...!" She yells something in French.

"I'm sorry! I'll work on it tonight, I promise!" he yells. What I don't understand is why she hits him so much. Suddenly, she looks over me, cutting my laughs short.

"You! Come here, girl!" she orders me. Something in her tone makes her seem very scary so my legs carry me over to her.

"Make sure he practices tonight. I want him to practice all night until he gets it perfect," she tells me. It's almost hard to understand her through her thick French accent.

"Um, A-Austin has plans tonight," I tell her cautiously, hoping she won't hit me.

"_Zen_ he needs to cancel!" she exclaims. "Now, onto _ze_ next dance." Austin has a sad look on his face but suddenly, he brightens up and shrugs it off.

"So, what are we learning now?" Austin asks Ms. Fournier.

"Ballet," she answers simply, turning on peaceful music.

"Ballet's for girls," Austin tells her.

"Plenty of men do ballet. Or in your case, boys," she specifies. I laugh.

"Austin, ballet isn't that hard," I say.

"You took ballet?" Ms. Fournier asks me.

"No..." I lie badly. I only took a few lessons and had two recitals.

"Come here," she demands. Again, my legs carry me over to her without asking me.

"First position!" she yells. I turn the balls of my feet out and stand up straight. _Stop that, feet_!

"Second position!" she shouts. I separate my heels a bit. _I told you to stop_!

"_Zird_ position!" she demands. I put my foot in front of the other with the heel of my front foot touching the middle of my other foot.

"Fourth position!" I spread my feet a little.

"Fifth position!" I basically cross my feet, making the toes of each foot touch the heel of my other.

"Plie!" she yells. And of course, I do a plie, hoping that's the end of it. But it's not.

"Arabesque!" That's easy so I go ahead and do it._  
_

"Grand jeté!" _Don't you dare_, I warn myself. I run across the room, jump, do a split in the air, and land on my other foot. I walk back over to Ms. Fournier. I see Austin smirk and I give him a dirty look.

"Pirouette," she tells me. I do a stupid pirouette. She makes me do many more ballet moves and they get harder and harder every time.

"Very good. What's your name?" she asks me.

"A-Ally," I tell her. She turns to Austin.

"Now, Austin, do you see how hard _zat_ was?" she asks him. He nods his head. "What you'll be doing isn't as hard." He lets out a sigh of relief. "You're mostly just an assistant to _ze _ballerina."

"I'm going to run and leap into your arms," Ms. Fournier says walking to the other side of the room.

"Ms. Fournier! Ms. Fournier!" Austin yells before she can start running.

"Yes, Mr. Moon?" she asks irritated.

"Can Ally be my ballerina instead?" Austin asks.

"Yes. Ally!" Ms. Fournier summons me. I walk over to where she was standing and she walks over to Austin.

"Actually, I'm glad you're here, Ally. Austin, when she jumps, lift her high _zen_ release her gently unto _ze_ floor," she instructs Austin. He nods in understanding.

"Ally, when you're ready," Ms. Fournier says to me. She moves to the side and I get ready to run at Austin. I take a deep breath, run, and jump. Austin catches me easily, lifts me up, then puts me down. Ms. Fournier claps and smiles.

"Very good, very good," she praises us. When I came to watch Austin, I expected to be laughing at him; not dancing with him. After the hour is up, she finally leaves. I pour water all over my face and Austin does the same.

"And now you know why I hate my dance lessons," he mutters to me.

"How many times did she hit you in that one hour?" I ask. I lost count after seven.

"About sixteen or seventeen times," he says shaking his head. "It hurts."

"I'm sorry," I say. "It was my fault the fourth time. If I hadn't have fallen..."

"Ally, I dropped you. You didn't fall. By the way, is your butt okay?" he asks. I laugh.

"Yeah, it's fine now," I tell him. He rubs the back of his head where his abusive teacher hit him so many times. He lets out a sigh and puts his head in his hands. I lean forward and kiss his head.

"I hope it feels better," I say leaning back and closes my eyes. I open my eyes a bit and see Austin's cheeks turning pink. I close my eyes and smirk.

"So, our date is being rescheduled?" I ask.

"D-date?" Austin asks.

"Friend date," I rephrase.

"Oh... No, we're still going tonight," he tells me.

"But you need to practice your salsa," I tell him.

"I've never practiced before when she told me to," he says.

"We're still gonna see that s-scary movie?" I ask, hoping he didn't notice my stutter.

"Ally, it's alright. It's just a movie. It's not like the ghosts are real," he reassures me.

"A-alright. If you say so..."

* * *

After the movie, which I hated, Austin and I find ourselves holding hands. It was way too scary for me. I hate scary movies. He better be glad I didn't make him watch the chick flick. About halfway through the movie, I had to hide in his chest and he wrapped his arms around me.

We had walked home in science. Now, we're back at Austin's house and I'm standing in my doorway still holding Austin's hand. I slowly slip my hand out of his grip. As soon as my hand is at my side, Austin's flies to the back of his neck.

"I had fun tonight, Austin," I tell him with a smile.

"Really?" Austin asks me. "I didn't really think you enjoyed the movie." I shrug.

"I'm not a big fan of scary movies but that one was alright," I say. Suddenly, Austin leans forward and kisses me full on the lips. My eyes are wide open the whole time. He pulls away and frowns at me.

"I-I'm sorry, Ally," he says quickly. I slam the door in his face, lock it and exhale.

What the _hell _was that?!

I hear soft knocking on my door.

"Ally?" Austin asks. I jump into bed without putting my pajamas on. I pull my blanket over my head and cry myself to sleep.

* * *

**Huh. Bet you weren't expecting that, were you? Maybe you were. My stories seem to be pretty predictable. Anyway, bye bye!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	6. Chapter 6

**Me: Who hasn't gotten a chance to do the disclaimer yet?**

**Noah: I haven't!**

**Me: Okay. Take it away, Noah.**

**Noah: Alright! Kenzie doesn't own Austin & Ally. If she did, Austin and Ally would have been together at least by Everglades & Allygators. Probably even sooner.**

**Me: You got that right, Noah! They probably would've been together in Secrets & Songbooks. Austin would have been like, "Yay! She has a crush on me!" then he'd ask her out and she'd realize that she doesn't have a crush on Dallas but on Austin.**

**Noah: Hey! That's my episode! If Auslly happened in that one, I wouldn't be in Austin & Ally at all!**

**Me: Okay, I'd wait a few episodes then... Maybe...**

* * *

I'm awoken by a noise. A _bang!_ a _bump!_ and a _crash!_ It seemed to come from Austin's room. I wipe my tear-stained cheeks and stand up, walking out of my room.

"Austin?" I knock on his door.

"Go away, Ally," he says quietly. I open his door.

"Austin, I'm sorry for locking you out of my room. You just caught me by surprise," I say. "If you wouldn't have kissed me-" He opens his door and pulls me into his room, closing the door when I'm in.

"What was that for?" I ask him.

"Do you know how much my mom would annoy me if she knew I kissed you?" he asks me. I look around his room and notice that all of his instruments have been knocked over.

"Why would your mom annoy you?" I ask, still looking around.

"She's convinced that I'm in love with you," he tells me shaking his head.

"So... you're not?" I ask. He shakes his head again.

"No, what? Are you kidding? You're my best friend. I wouldn't jeopardize that," he says.

"So why did you kiss me?" I ask confused. He shrugs.

"I just... I don't know. I guess... I guess I just wasn't thinking," he tells me.

"Oh" is all I can say. "What happened in here?" He raises his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" he asks. I gesture to all of the instruments that are turned over.

"Uh... You should really get back to bed," he says shoving his hands in his pockets. I sigh.

"And you should really start answering my questions. It'd be nice for a change," I tell him. I walk out of his room and back to mine. I close my door, put on pajamas, climb back into bed, and go back to sleep.

* * *

"Are you coming down to breakfast?" Austin asks me slowly. I shake my head, staring at the ceiling.

"Ally, I'm sorry," he tells me. I roll over and stare at the wall. I hear Austin sigh and close my door. I look down. I feel mean... But that kiss was out of line! Unnecessary! Uncalled for! It didn't need to happen... But it did... There's a knock on my door.

"I told you, Austin! I'm not coming down for breakfast!" I exclaim.

"It's Mimi," she says. She opens the door.

"Oh, hi, Mimi," I say.

"Ally, this is the second time you haven't come down for a meal. What's wrong?" she asks me. She sits on my bed and I sit up.

"Mimi, can I tell you something?" I ask.

"Of course you can, sweetie," she says smiling.

"And if I tell you, can I trust you not to annoy Austin about it?" I ask.

"Um... yes, you can trust me not to," she finally says.

"Okay," I take a deep breath, "Austin kissed me last night." She squeals.

"Really?!" she asks excitedly. "So you two are together now?!"

"No, no, Austin told me how he wasn't thinking and he apologized for it," I tell her.

"He apologized for kissing you?" she asks. I nod. "So you're _mad_ at him for kissing you?" she asks. I nod again.

"Okay, so lemme get this straight. You're mad because after all of these years, Austin finally went after you?" she asks.

"I'm not mad exactly-Wait, what?" I ask.

"It's so obvious that he loves you," she says absentmindedly. Austin told me about this.

"Okay, anyway, I'm not exactly mad because he kissed me. I'm mad because I already like someone else," I tell her. She shakes her head.

"Honey, let me tell you something," she says taking my hands. "You're gonna be here all summer. You've only been here for a few days. Now, would you really like to spend your summer mad at Austin?" I think about this.

"I... I guess not..." I say. She smiles.

"That's all I have to say." She stands up and walks out of my room. She's right. I sit there for a moment before finally getting dressed and walking downstairs. Everyone stares at me.

"G-good morning," I say to everyone.

"Good morning, Ally," everyone says in unison. Pancakes and omelets, sausage links and biscuits, toast and oatmeal. I grab a plate and put some sausage, two biscuits, and a slice of toast on it. I sit down at the table beside Austin. He refuses to look at me. I take a bite of my sausage.

"Austin, can I talk to you outside after breakfast?" I ask. He looks over at me with a confused look on his face. Mimi smiles at me from across the table.

"Uh, s-sure, Ally," he says. As soon as I'm done eating, I grab my songbook from upstairs and walk outside to wait for Austin.

_Dear Diary/Songbook,_

_What exactly am I going to say to him? Should I tell him what he said? Well, he denied it so it must have been his sleepiness talking. Okay, I've made my decision in what I'm going to say. I'll tell you how it goes after._

_Love, Ally_

"Okay, so you aren't going to tell him what he said," I say to myself.

"What?"

I look beside me and see Austin sitting there. I set my songbook down beside me.

"You really need to learn how to make more noise," I snap at him.

"Sorry. What were you talking about?" he asks. I sigh.

"You told me you loved me yesterday," I tell him.

"No, I told you that my mom thought I loved you," he says.

"Yes, but when you were tired, you said you loved me," I tell him. He pushes his eyebrows together.

"Well, I don't," he says. "Not that I don't love you as a best friend. I do, just... nothing more."

"Okay, don't kiss me anymore then," I say. He smiles.

"I can manage. I mean, I love the things you do and I love the way you get me but... I just don't like you like that," he tells me. Something sparks in my brain.

"Wait a minute. Say that again," I tell him.

"I just don't like you like that," he says.

"Before that," I say.

"I can manage?" he asks.

"After that," I say.

"I love the things you do and I love the way you get me?" he asks. I smile.

"That's perfect!" I exclaim.

_I love the things you do_

_It's how you do the things you love_

_But it's not a love song_

_Not a love song_

"Huh?" he asks. I pick up my songbook and write down the words he'd said.

_I love the way you get me_

_But correct me if I'm wrong_

_This is not a love song_

_Not a love song_

"Alright, we gotta build on that later," I tell him. He pushes his eyebrows together in confusion again.

"Hey, I wanna show you something," Austin says. He takes my hand and leads me off of the porch. That shock has actually become kind of relaxing to me. I tuck my songbook into the pocket of my jean jacket. He leads me to town but we don't stop there. We keep walking to the opposite side of town. We don't stop there either. He takes me into the forest.

"Where are we going?" I ask Austin.

"You'll see," he tells me. It's a while before we stop. I look around, unaware of what he wants me to see.

"What?" I ask. He points up into the trees. I squint trying to see.

"I don't understand," I say. He rolls his eyes smiling. He starts climbing the tree.

"Come on, Als," he says.

"Austin, I'm wearing a skirt. I can't climb that tree," I tell him.

"I'm above you; not below you," he says. I sigh and look up. I look for a branch and start climbing. Once we get to the top, I stupidly look down. We're so high off of the ground.

"Austin..." I say fearfully.

"What?" he asks. I whimper and point to the ground.

"Ally, you'll be alright, I promise. Look," he says pointing to the tree. There's a carving.

_Allyson Loves Jason_

I blink. That brings back memories. Heartbreaking memories. I really liked this guy named Jason but he took my 64-pack of crayons. I stopped liking him after that. He never did give me back my crayons... I sigh.

"Okay, okay, now look over there," he says. He points to something in the distance. I look over the tops of trees and houses and buildings at the beautiful sunrise. It's _that _early?

"Wow..." I say breathlessly. "It's beautiful." He smiles.

"I knew you'd think so," he tells me. "Alright, now look down." I look down and my eyes widen. I snap my head up.

"Why did you tell me to do that?!" I ask him.

"Were you scared?" he asks holding my hand. I look down again and feel less scared. Probably because if I fell, Austin would be holding my hand and he'd pull me back up.

"Not so much," I tell him.

"Awesome!" he exclaims. "Just got you over your fear of heights."

"Whaaat? I don't have a fear of heights," I say in a high-pitched voice.

"You don't now," he says smiling a goofy smile. "You know what?"

"What?" I ask.

"I'm gonna get you over all of your fears," he tells me leaning back against another tree branch. He really looks like he's about to fall.

"What?!" I ask again. "That's kind of impossible."

"Please. I'm awesome at stuff like that," he tells me.

"I'm still not letting you do that," I tell him. He shakes his head and laughs.

"You're funny, Ally. You think I need your permission," he says smirking. We climb down the tree.

"Okay, I have a compromise," I tell him.

"A compri-what?" he asks.

"A compromise. I'll do this getting-over-my-fears thing if you get over your almost-permanent writer's block," I say. He blinks.

"No," he says firmly shaking his head.

"Come on, you wrote some of it earlier," I tell him.

"Oh, that's why you sang what I said," he says.

"Y-yeah," I say. I'm still uncomfortable with the fact that he's heard me sing a few times. He sighs.

"Fine," he finally agrees. I open my songbook.

"We can keep a list of your fears in there too," Austin says. I sigh and begin the list.

_List Of Fears:_

_Heights (Overcome)_

_Spiders_

_Being on stage_

I cross that one out so he won't see it and try to help me get over it.

"Do you have roller coasters on there?" he asks. "I know you hated those." I add it to the list. We add more as we walk back to his house. We have a few rows by the time we get there. We added a few more rides too.

Slingshot ride.

One of those rides where you _aren't strapped in _and it spins you around. I think it's called the Gravitron. How could you _not _be afraid of one of those?! If you move too much, you could fly out of it or the thing could come off and roll away. The list of things wrong with that ride goes on and on.

The pirate ship.

A Ferris Wheel. That pretty much ties into the height fear.

"Alright, we've made the list. Now you've got to help me with this song," I say flipping back a page. I had been writing a bit while I was supposed to be thinking about more things for the list.

_You're always on my mind_

_I think about you all the time_

_Um..._

_No._

_Let's not talk about it_

_Drama: we can live without it_

_Catch a wave if we're bored_

_There's a clock we'll ignore_

_Find a way_

_Around it_

I raise my eyebrows.

"What do you think?" I ask. He nods.

"It's really good," he says. "But I don't know anything we could add to it." I think about it. We walk up to his room.

"Grab that guitar," he says picking up the keyboard and its stand. I notice that he's cleaned up his room. We bring it to the dancing room. That's what I call it now. He plugs the keyboard in. I extend the guitar to him but he doesn't take it.

"Ally, you know how I'm giving you guitar lessons?" he asks. I nod. "Let's put your skills to the test." I sigh and slip the guitar over my neck. I shove my hair in my mouth.

"Ally, there's no need to be nervous. You're just playing guitar," he tells me. I tell him the notes for the beginning of the song. He walks over to the piano and plays it.

_You're always on my mind_

_I think about you all the time_

_Um..._

_No._

He stops playing and I start the guitar. It's actually pretty good!

_Let's not talk about it_

_Drama: we can live without it_

_Catch a wave if we're bored_

_There's a clock we'll ignore_

_Find a way_

_Around it_

_Hey, girl_

_I can tell there's somethin'_

_Even when you say it's nothin'_

_When you're playin' with your hair_

_Like you just don't care_

_It's a tell_

_You're bluffin'_

"Hey, I'm not a girl!" he exclaims.

"We're writing it from your point of view, smart one," I say with a laugh.

"Oh... continue," he says. "By the way, you're really improving on the guitar."

_Now please don't take this the wrong way_

_I love the things you do_

_It's how you do the things you love_

_But it's not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_I love the way you get me_

_But correct me if I'm wrong_

_This is not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_I love that you buy the tickets_

_And don't make me watch the chick flicks_

"Now you have to write something. I'm not gonna do the whole thing," I tell him. He sighs.

"We've come so far being just the way we are?" he asks.

"Don't tell me. Come play it," I say. "You gave me lessons and now I'm giving them to you." I give him the guitar when he gets over to me.

"You gotta play with me, Als," he teases. He points around the corner. I go and get the red guitar and walk back downstairs. I start playing and after a little bit, Austin picks up the rhythm and plays it too. Austin sings this time instead of me.

_We've come so far_

_Bein' just the way we are_

_If it's not broke_

_Don't fix it_

_I can't guess the meaning_

_When you don't say what you're feelin'_

_If you got a broken heart_

_You can punch me in the arm_

_Now that's what you're needin'_

_Don't take this the wrong way_

_Nope_

If I've got a broken heart, I can punch you in the arm?" I ask. He laughs.

"Don't you remember when Jason took your 64-pack of crayons?" he asks.

"Yeah, you let me punch you in the arm until I felt better," I say laughing too. "Oh, now I get it."

"Okay, so then after that, we can sing the chorus again," he says. We start dancing around the room as we sing.

_I love the things you do_

_It's how you do the things you love_

_Well, it's not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_I love the way you get me_

_But correct me if I'm wrong_

_This is not a love song_

_Not a love song_

Suddenly, he stops singing.

"What?" I ask. "Run out of lyrics?"

"No, your phone is ringing," he tells me.

"Oh!" I exclaim. I turn around and walk across the room.

"Hello?" I answer my phone.

"Like, hey girl!" Trish exclaims.

"Huh?" I ask.

"So, I heard Dallas was, like, totally thinking about, like, asking you out when you get back from, like, River Dale," Trish says. Her use of the word 'like' was really beginning to get on my nerves.

"Why are you talking like that?" I ask her.

"I'm at work and everyone here talks like that," she says in her normal voice. "Play along so I don't feel stupid?" I sigh. "Alright, let's start over," she says. She takes an unnecessary deep breath.

"Hey, girl!" she yells in my ear. I sigh again.

"Like, hey, girl! What's, like, going on in Miami?" I ask.

"Like, I totally heard that Dallas was, like, totally going to, like, ask you out when you get back from, like, River Dale," she tells me. My eyes widen. I didn't notice that she said this the first time but I stay in character.

"Like, no way! Are you, like, serious?!" I ask her excitedly.

"Like, for real, girl!" she exclaims. I squeal.

"Like, O-M-G! You, like, better not be, like, lying to me!" I scream.

"Like, I'm not!" she yells. I scream very loudly.

"Like, I have to go. My manager is, like, giving me the evil eye. Like, I'll call you, like, later," she says.

"'Kay, 'kay. Like, T-T-Y-L, girl," I say hanging up the phone. Austin starts playing again as soon as I turn back around.

_I don't speak girl_

_Like, hey, girl!_

_I don't quite understand the manicure_

_But you're_

_The only friend I'd take a shower for_

_And I'd really do that_

"Gross!" I tease. He rolls his eyes.

"Yep, I've got nothing else," he tells me.

"That was amazing. I think you've got real songwriting potential," I tell him. I give him a round of applause. "Very good, student."

"Hey, that's my thing," he tells me smiling. "But I guess you can steal it for a day." I roll my eyes.

"So why were you talking like that?" he asks me.

"Everybody at Trish's job talks like that apparently and she made me talk like that too so she wouldn't feel stupid," I tell him. He nods in understanding.

"So you wanna go to the mall?" he asks me.

"_You _want to go to the _mall_?" I ask him.

"Yeah! I want to go to the jewelry store..." he says dreamily.

"The _jewelry _store?" I ask. "I don't understand why unless there's a girl you like that works there."

"Maybe," he says.

"Mhm, what's her name?" I ask.

"Cassidy," he says breathlessly.

"Well, come on!" I exclaim taking his hand and dragging him to the mall. We walk to the jewelry store but Austin won't go in.

"Austin, just go ask her out!" I say, trying to push him in.

"No, Ally! I can't do that!" he exclaims. He starts running away. I chase after him.

"Austin!" I call. We run for a little while before he stops.

"You don't think she saw me, do you?" he asks. I shake my head.

"Austin, if you aren't going to ask her out, you'll have to shop with me," I tell him.

"I-I can shop with you. As long as I don't have to ask Cassidy out," he says looking around me. I drag him to a store full of skirts and blouses.

"Ooh, doesn't this look cute?!" I ask holding up a pink skirt with black polka dots.

"Yeah, sure," Austin says absentmindedly. I buy a few skirts and he offers to hold my bags. I gladly allow him to. I buy a few more things and Austin isn't really all there. I ask him what's wrong.

"Sorry, Ally, I really just want to go to the jewelry store," he tells me.

"Oh, _now _you want to go," I say. "Then go! I'll catch up with you later."

"I'm not just leaving you here. What if you get stolen?" he asks seriously.

"Austin, I think I can take care of myself. Go," I tell him. He thinks about it.

"I'm not leaving you by yourself. Come with me," he says. I sigh.

"Fine," I say. I follow him to the jewelry store.

"'S'up, Cassidy?" Austin asks. Cassidy has red hair and she's... she's just really pretty. Like, extremely, incredibly pretty. Almost as pretty as Mimi.

"You've been shopping, I see," she says eyeing my bags in his hands. He looks down.

"These aren't mine! They're hers!" he exclaims pointing to me.

"And who are you?" she asks me smiling.

"I'm Ally. It's nice to meet you, Cassidy," I say reaching across the counter and shaking her hand.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you too. Are you Austin's girlfriend?" she asks me.

"No!" Austin and I yell at the same time.

"We're friends. Just friends," I tell her quickly.

"Just friends, huh? But you used to date before, right?" she asks. I shake my head.

"God no! Austin's just... a little bit too... Austin for me. I would never date my best friend," I tell her. I narrow my eyes at him. "Or kiss him for that matter," I say through clenched teeth.

"Uh, anyway, Cassidy, I was wondering if... you'd... like to go on a date with me?" he asks quietly.

"I'm sorry? I didn't quite catch that," she says.

"Nothing! I didn't say anything!" Austin exclaims. He runs out of the store, my bags flailing about. Cassidy has a confused look on her face.

"He wanted to know if you'd go on a date with him," I repeat for her.

"Oh! Really?" she asks. She bites her lip. "I have a boyfriend... But it'd be pretty cool to be friends with him, I guess."

"Oh, well, that sucks," I say. "The part about being friends is pretty cool though." She writes something down and hands it to me.

"Here, give him my number," she says. I program it into my phone in case I lose the piece of paper.

"Awesome. See you later, Cassidy," I say leaving the store to look for Austin. Where could he have gone?

* * *

**It's late tonight, I know. I'm trying to update as fast as I can but my family wants to be more "involved" in stuff. So they've kicked me off of the laptop a few times. Sorry that it's so late tonight, too. Review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	7. Chapter 7

**Me: Ross... Ross...**

**Ross: *arguing with Laura***

**Me: Ross... Ross... _ROSS_!**

**Ross: Huh? What?**

**Me: It's your turn to do the disclaimer again.**

**Ross: I thought it was Laura's turn.**

**Me: No, she went twice the first time around so it's your turn.**

**Ross: Okay. Kenzie doesn't own Austin & Ally, the characters, or most of the songs. If she did, Laura and-**

**Laura: Are you talking about me in your disclaimer _again_?**

**Me: Ross, just kiss Laura.**

**Ross: *kisses her***

**Laura: *kisses back***

**Everybody: _FINALLY_!_  
_**

**Raini: Awwwww!**

**Me: Okay, on with the story!**

* * *

I look around. I see a glimpse of a bag whip around the corner. That's my best bet. I run in that direction. I run around the corner and see a flash of blonde hair run into a bathroom. I walk up to the door. I can't go in there. I take out my phone and call him.

"Hello?" he answers it nervously. I hear his voice echoing in his phone. Probably because he's in the bathroom.

"Come out of the bathroom," I tell him.

"What? I'm not in the bathroom," he says. I hear a toilet flush on the phone and from the bathroom and a few seconds later, a man walks out. While the door is open, I see Austin leaning against the wall on the far end of the bathroom then it closes.

"Come out," I tell him hanging up the phone. I put my phone back in my pocket. About a minute later, the door slowly opens back up.

"I feel like an idiot," Austin says as I take two of my bags from him.

"You're not an idiot because guess what?" I ask.

"What?" he asks brightening up a bit.

"Cassidy wanted me to..." I take out my phone and hesitate. If I give him her number, he might think that she's interested. "... Tell you that she has a boyfriend," I say putting my phone in my pocket. Austin frowns.

"Wow, that makes me feel worse," Austin says.

"Don't feel bad," I say putting a comforting hand on his back.

"Ally, you don't know how humiliating that was," he tells me. He sighs and we walk back home again.

"So you went shopping?" my dad asks Austin. "Why do you have more bags than Ally?"

"No, these are all hers," Austin tells him.

"Uh huh, sure," my dad jokes. We all laugh.

"Ally, can I talk to you?" my dad asks gesturing for me to sit beside him on the couch.

"Yeah, sure, Dad," I say. I hand Austin the rest of my bags. "Austin, can you go put these in my room for me?" He nods and walks up the stairs.

"I talked to Mimi," he starts. She told him about the kiss, I just know it. But he doesn't come right out and say it. "What exactly is going on between you two? How far has your relationship progressed?"

"Friendship," I correct him. "And it's progressed... I don't know but I just helped him ask out his crush!" I exclaim excitedly. He furrows his eyebrows.

"So... you helped him ask yourself out?" he asks.

"Dad! I'm not his crush. There's this girl who works at the jewelry shop. I asked her out for him! But she has a boyfriend," I tell him sadly.

"Ah, I see. So, you've never even looked at Austin in that way?" my dad asks me.

"No, Dad. God no," I tell him shaking my head. "Like I told Cassidy, Austin's a bit too Austin for my taste. He's just not my type, I guess."

"But you kissed him!" my dad finally exclaims.

"_He_ kissed _me_! He apologized for it, Dad, and it's off of our plates," I tell him. He leans back into the couch and reopens his newspaper.

"Alright, whatever you say," he says.

"So, you believe Austin loves me now too?" I ask him.

"Of course not," he laughs. I breathe a sigh of relief. "I believe that you're both in love with each other." At that, I stand up and walk to my room. Austin's lying on my bed waiting for me. He sits up when he hears the _click-clack_ of my shoes on the hard wood floor of my room.

"You ready to finish the song?" he asks eagerly.

"Uh, sure," I say. We go to the dancing room and pick up the guitars. Austin starts playing as soon as the guitar is over his neck. We skip the introduction though.

_Let's not talk about it_

_Drama: we can live without it_

_Catch a wave if we're bored_

_There's a clock we'll ignore_

_Find a way_

_Around it_

_Hey girl_

_I can tell there's somethin'_

_Even when you say it's nothin'_

_When you're playin' with your hair_

_Like you just don't care_

_It's a tell_

_You're bluffin'_

_Now please don't this the wrong way_

_I love the way you do_

_It's how you do the things you love_

_But it's not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_I love the way you get me_

_But correct me if I'm wrong_

_This is not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_I love that you buy the tickets_

_And you don't make me watch the chick flicks_

_We've come so far_

_Bein' just the way we are_

_If it's not broke_

_Don't fix it_

_I can't guess the meanin'_

_When you don't say what you're feelin'_

_If you've got a broken heart_

_You can punch me in the arm_

_Now that's what_

_You needed_

_Don't take this the wrong way_

_Nope_

_I love the the things you do_

_It's how you do the things you love_

_But it's not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_I love the way you get me_

_But correct me if I'm wrong_

_This is not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_I don't speak girl_

_Like, hey girl!_

_I don't quite understand the manicure_

_But you're_

_The only friend I'd take a shower for_

_And I would really do that for you_

_And I_

_Would hold your bags when you go shoppin'_

_What a guy!_

_What a guy, what a guy, what a guy!_

_What a guy!_

_I love the things you do_

_It's how you do the things you love_

_The way you sing it_

_Put me through it_

_I guess I always knew it_

_I love the way you get me_

_But correct me if I'm wrong_

_This is not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_And no, it's not a love song_

_I love the things you do_

_It's how you do the things you love_

_But, it's not a love song_

_Definitely not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_I love the way you get me_

_But correct me if I'm wrong_

_This is not a love song_

_It's not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_It's not a love song_

_It's not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_It's not a love song_

_It's not a love song_

"Hey, Als?" Austin asks.

"Yeah, Austin?" I ask. I'll wait until after to give him the good news. He sets down the guitar.

"You know what this song is missing?" he asks. I raise my eyebrows in question. He points to the corner of the room. "Drums," he tells me. Have those always been there?

"I'll let the master work," I say taking a dramatic step back.

"Come on," he says rolling his eyes. He leads me over to the corner of the room and sits down. He points to the guitar I'm holding. I start playing and he adds the drums in. We play the whole song through, skipping the introduction once more, with the guitar and the newly added drums. When we finish, I give Austin a high five.

"That was awesome!" I exclaim. "Alright, so guess what?" I clasp my hands together and smile.

"What?" he asks.

"You just wrote your first song!" I exclaim nodding happily.

"Nuh uh!" he says. "You wrote most of it!" I shake my head, still smiling.

"No, _you _wrote most of it! All I wrote was the very beginning and the chorus!" I tell him. His eyes widen at the sudden realization.

"I just wrote a song..." he says quietly. He blinks looking down. "I just wrote my first song!" he yells jumping up. "You know what this calls for, right?"

"Nope, no idea," I say clueless.

"Stay right here," he says. He runs out of the room. A few minutes later, he returns with three large buckets.

"What are those?" I ask.

"Buckets of ice cream," he says. He hands me one and a spoon. I open up the lid and see _Fruity Mint Swirl. _I let out a squeal.

"Fruity Mint Swirl?!" I ask excitedly scooping the spoon inside and eating some. A goofy grin crosses Austin's face.

"What?" I ask.

"I've got an idea," he says. "Come on." We sneak into the kitchen quietly. Why we're being so quiet, I don't know yet. Austin sets down his buckets of ice cream on the table. He gestures for me to do the same. I shake my head and hug the ice cream bucket tightly.

"Come on, Ally, only for a minute," he promises.

"Fine," I say. I carefully put the bucket on the table. Austin takes one of his buckets, which looks like cookie dough, and scrapes into the other bucket. That one looks like chocolate chip.

"What are you doing?" I ask. He doesn't answer and he picks up the bucket of Fruity Mint Swirl. He scrapes a lot of that into the chocolate chip bucket too.

"Here, I left some for you," he says handing me back the bucket.

"Thanks, Austy," I say digging my spoon into it. Austin crosses the kitchen and gets a large spoon. He comes back over and struggles to stir the ice cream.

"Do you wanna help me?" he asks. His tone told me that that was more of a command than a question. Which means he _needs _me to help him. I grab the top of the spoon and help him stir. Gosh, this is harder than it looks!

"Why are we doing this?" I ask strained. Most of my strength is holding this spoon.

"I wanna see how it tastes," he says.

"Couldn't we have just put a few scoops from each in a bowl or something?" I ask.

"Please, Ally. That wouldn't be fun, now would it?" he asks me. "God, this stuff is frozen!" I hear someone behind us.

"What are you two doing?" Mike asks us. We turn around, our sides touching to hide the bucket of ice cream.

"Nothing," Austin and I say at the same time. Mike looks at the drawer Austin left open. He goes and closes it. He walks over to us and looks behind us.

"Really, guys? What was the point of this?" he asks picking up the spoon which takes the whole bucket with it. Mike tries to shake it off but when it doesn't work, he just puts the whole bucket down.

"Couldn't you have just put a few scoops from each in a bowl or something?" he asks us. Austin and I look at each other.

"That wouldn't be fun," Austin and I say together. Mike sighs.

"Try not to make a mess and buy some more ice cream later. Not everyone likes their ice creams mixed together," he tells us.

"Will do, Dad," Austin says. Mike leaves the room. Austin and I look at each other, fit to burst... then we do. We laugh so hard. Once we control ourselves, we go back to mixing. It takes a while but finally, it's blended.

"Would you like a taste, Ms. Dawson?" Austin asks in a bad British accent.

"I'd love to, Mr. Moon," I say in an okay British accent. Austin picks up the spoon and puts in my mouth.

"Oh, it's lovely," I tell him still being British.

"Oh, you like that, do you?" he asks, his accent fading. "How would you like it here?" He smears it all over my face. I lick as far as my tongue will allow me.

"It's still pretty good," I say in my regular voice. "Austin?"

"Yeah?" he asks. I shove his head into the ice cream bucket.

"How does it taste to you?" I ask him with a laugh.

"Hm," he says, his voice echoing in the bucket. "Really good." I let go of his head and he brings it out of the bucket. I laugh when I see that it's all over his face and even in his hair.

"That's a nice look for you," I tease. "It really brings out the color of your eyes." I look into them and notice something I've never noticed before.

"They really do. Have you always had flecks of gold in your eyes?" I ask. He nods.

"All my life," he tells me. I lean up on tiptoes to get a closer look.

"They're really pretty," I tell him.

"Don't you mean handsome?" he asks.

"Nope," I joke. "You're a very pretty boy." I tap the top of his head carefully and my hand still gets covered in ice cream. I lick my fingers. "Go wash your head," I tell him pointing up the stairs with my thumb. He smiles and walks up the stairs. I put the lid on the originally-chocolate-chip bucket and put it back in the freezer. I through the cookie dough bucket away and continue eating the Fruity Mint Swirl. I eat in silence for a few minutes. Then suddenly, the whole right side of my head gets soaked. I look and see Austin has pressed his wet head against mine.

"That wasn't necessary," I say walking across the kitchen, grabbing a towel, and trying to dry my head. I turn back around and see that my bucket of ice cream is gone.

"Give it to me," I tell Austin, putting the towel down.

"Give what to you?" he asks innocently.

"You know what," I tell him. He shrugs.

"Show me your hands," I demand. His hands are suspiciously behind his back.

"Nah, I'm good," he says. I walk over to him.

"Show me your hands," I repeat. He shakes his head. In one quick move, I snatch it out from behind his back. I smile.

"Thank you for your cooperation," I say. I eat another spoonful and put it back in the freezer.

"I have a surprise for you," Austin says.

"What is it?" I ask.

"It's called a surprise for a reason. So if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore, would it?" he asks.

"You know I hate surprises. Just tell me," I demand. He shakes his head.

"Nope. Let's just say it has something to do with your fears," he says. I grab the collar of his shirt and bring him down to my level.

"Austin Monica Moon, you tell me what the surprise is or I will shove that guitar down your throat," I say pointing to the dancing room. He smirks.

"Use my very embarrassing middle name and threaten me all you want; I still won't tell you," he says. I huff and let go of his shirt.

"Do me a favor?" he asks. "Don't use my middle name anymore?"

"Tell me the surprise," I say.

"Nope," he says.

"Alright, Monica," I say.

"Austy's better," he mutters.

"Austy Monica Moon," I say. He groans.

"Please?" he asks.

"I can't, Monica. Not until you tell me the surprise," I tell him. He pouts.

"Pwease, Awwy?" he asks in a baby voice.

"No, Monica."

"Fine... Allyson," Austin says.

"I'm fine with my name. People would still call me Allyson if you hadn't shortened it, Monica," I tell him.

"That's not even fair," he says.

"Life's not fair, Monica," I say patting him on the back. "You just gotta deal with it."

"Okay, what if we compromise?" he asks.

"Isn't you telling me the surprise and me not calling you by your middle name the compromise?" I ask.

"Well, how about a secondary compromise? If I tell you a secret, will you stop calling me Monica?" he asks. I think it over.

"What's the secret?" I ask.

"You've got to agree first," he counters.

"Fine, I agree. Now what's the secret?" I ask.

"Okay, so you know how you said Not A Love Song was the first song I've ever written?" he asks. I nod. "Well... it isn't..."

"Y-you wrote another song?" I ask. He nods sheepishly. "Well, come on! Lemme hear it!"

"I told you the secret and that's all I'm gonna do," he says.

"Alright... Monica," I say. He sighs and leads me back to the dancing room. He picks up the guitar and starts playing.

_You're insecure_

_Don't know what for_

I know this song! This is the song Austin was playing the other day...

_You're turnin' heads when you walk through the door_

_Don't need makeup_

_To cover up_

_Bein' the way that you are is enough_

_Everyone else in the room can see it_

_Everyone else but you_

_Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

_The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

_But when you smile at the ground_

As he sings that part, I get the urge to smile at the ground and I end up doing it. He leans down and looks at me. I turn away when he looks right into my eyes.

_It ain't hard to tell:_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_If only you saw what I can see_

_You'd understand why they want you so desperately_

_Right now I'm lookin' at you and I can't believe_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_Oh, oh_

_That's what makes you beautiful_

_So c-come on_

_You've got it wrong_

_To prove I'm right_

_I put it_

_In a song_

_I don't know why_

_You're bein' shy_

_And turn away_

_When I look into your eyes  
_

_Everyone else in the room can see it_

_Everyone else but you_

_Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

_The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

_But when you smile at the ground_

_It ain't hard to tell:_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_If only you saw what I can see_

_You'd understand why they want you so desperately_

_Right now I'm lookin' at you_

_And I can't believe_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_Oh, oh_

_That's what makes you beautiful_

_Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na_

_Na, na, na, na, na, na_

_Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na_

_Na, na, na, na, na, na_

_Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

_The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

_But when you smile at the ground_

_It ain't hard to tell:_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

_The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

_But when you smile at the ground_

_It ain't hard to tell:_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_If only you saw what I can see_

_You'd understand why they want you so desperately_

_Right now I'm lookin' at you_

_And I can't believe_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_Oh, oh_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_That's what makes you beautiful_

"What'd you think?" he asks me.

"That was amazing, Austin!" I exclaim.

"You really think so, Als?" he asks. I nod.

"Before you know it, boys will be singing it to their insecure girlfriends to make them feel good all over the world," I tell him.

"You know that song was for you, right?" he asks looking down.

"Of course I did. Thank you for writing a song about me. Why don't you write songs more often?" I ask. He shrugs.

"I can probably only write them because you're here," he says. A smile spreads across my lips.

"Aww!" I exclaim leaning up on tiptoes and wrapping my arms around his neck. He wraps his own around my waist and nuzzles his face into my hair.

"You're so sweet," I say.

"Thanks, Als," he says into my hair. We stand there like that for a second then I pull away awkwardly.

"So I can suddenly songwrite-"

"Write songs," I correct him.

"-And you can suddenly dance," he says. "See what our best-friendiness does to us?"

"I can't dance?" I say questioningly. "If you're talking about the ballet, that was just because I took the lessons. See?" I do my Ally dance.

"Wow, that was... never do that again," Austin says shaking his head and laughing.

"I won't," I promise him. "Hey, your song reminds me, can I have my bathing suit back?"

"If you can find it," he tells me. We walk up to his room. Remember how I said that he cleaned up his room? I was only talking about the instruments. The rest of his room is still a complete mess.

"Have you ever thought about-oh, I don't know-_cleaning your room_ for once?" I ask.

"Nope," he answers.

"Figures," I say. "We're cleaning this room."

"We? As in both of us?" he asks.

"Well, obviously, you won't do it if I let you do it yourself," I say.

"True," he says.

"Well, we better get to work," I say leaning down and picking up a dirty sock.

* * *

It may have taken five hours but we finished most of his room. I still haven't found my bathing suit though. I'm under Austin's bed right now because I'm the only one of us who'd fit. Austin's standing behind me, waiting for my diagnosis.

"Well, this'll take at least an extra thirty minutes," I tell him. "Ew!"

"What? What do you see?" he asks me. I pick up some kind of cloth under his bed so I won't have to touch the thing. I throw out a rotten, green, half-eaten piece of pizza with mushrooms growing out of it.

"Oh, I was wondering what happened to that. I brought it to bed one night because I wasn't finished with it and I fell asleep," Austin exclaims. I hear a squishy sound and I'm guessing he took a bite. I shiver in disgust.

"Yeah, this is disgusting," Austin says. I hear it hit one of the ten trash bags. Yes, there was ten bags worth of trash in his room. Disgusting, right? I start throwing things out from under his bed. Mostly clothes.

"Hey, my lucky shirt!" Austin exclaims. I roll my eyes. Once everything is gone, I look around to make sure I got everything. I see something red near the wall. I crawl closer to it and pick it up.

"My bathing suit!" I say. I go to jump up and my head hits the metal bed frame. "Ow!"

"Ally, what happened?" Austin asks.

"I hit my head," I say, carefully crawling out.

"Uh... you might wanna wash that," Austin says pointing at it.

"You're right. It has been under your bed for a few days," I agree.

"No, that's not the reason. You remember when I shoved it in my pants? Well, I kinda, sorta, maybe, accidentally put it in my boxers instead of my jeans," he says sheepishly.

"Ew!" I exclaim. I hold it away from myself with two fingers. "Wash it for me please!" I throw it at him and he catches it.

"I'll do that later," he says. He goes to throw it on his bed but I stop him.

"No, you're gonna wash it now," I say. "I don't want it to get sucked into the vortex underneath your bed." He rolls his eyes and leaves the room to wash it. I get my songbook from the dancing room and sit down on the floor against the wall.

_"Let's just say it has something to do with you fears."_

A phrase comes to my mind and I write it down._  
_

_Break down the walls_

"There. It's in the washing machine," Austin says from the door. "Happy?"

"Yeah, sure," I say. I close my book.

"What's wrong?" he asks sitting down on the floor beside me.

"Nothing," I say, absentmindedly shoving a strand of hair in my mouth.

"Don't you remember what we wrote?" Austin asks. I shake my head, not sure of what he's talking about. He tugs my hair out of his mouth.

"'When you're playin' with your hair like you just don't care, it's tell... you're bluffin''," he sings to me.

"I'm afraid to get over my fears," I tell him.

"Isn't that kind of a contradiction?" he asks me. I shrug. "Ally, it'll be alright. I'll be with you the whole time. Come on, take a chance and break down the walls," Austin says. I blink.

"What did you just say?" I ask.

"Take a chance and break down the walls," he says.

"Where did you get that from?" I ask.

"It's a metaphor or something, isn't it?" he asks me.

"Yeah, but what made you think of that specific metaphor?" I ask. He shrugs. "I believe our brains are connected because," I open my book, "I _just _wrote that down." I show him the page.

"Whoa, that's creepy..." he says.

"So what's the surprise?" I ask.

"I'm taking you to-hey, don't do that," he snaps playfully.

"Aha, so it's a place!" I say.

"Yeah, it's a place but you don't know what place," he says.

"It has to do with me getting over my fears..." I say quietly, trying to figure it out. But at the moment, I can't remember a thing that we put on the list. I start to flip through the pages.

"No cheating," Austin says. He takes my book from me.

"Don't touch my book," I shriek at him. Frightened, he throws the book across the room. He looks at me quickly and starts to get up to get it. I tackle him to the floor to stop him. I climb over him and he grabs my ankle. He crawls around me but I stand up and jump over his head. My hand almost touches my book but Austin grabs my ankle again and pulls me back. He drags me across the room, away from my book.

"No!" I yell.

"What's going on in here?" Mimi asks from the door. I look up.

"Oh hi, Mimi," I say smiling. "Nothing. Nothing's going on. Oh, wait, Mimi! You know what the surprise is, don't you?" She nods.

"Of course I do. We're all going to-"

"Mom!" Austin cuts her off. She slowly walks away from the door. As soon as she's out of sight, Austin starts pulling again and I continue struggling. Once he's got me on the other side of the room, he runs as fast as he can over to my book. He picks it up and starts to put it in his pants.

"Austin, don't touch my book!" I yell from the opposite side of the room. I don't have the energy to run, not even for the most sacred thing in the world. "And don't do that! I can't wash that!"

"I'll do it unless you let me keep it until tomorrow," he negotiates.

"Austin!" I exclaim. "I can't sleep unless it's right beside me!" The corner of my book goes into his pants and I wince. "Don't!"

"Can I keep it? Because I know you'll look if I give it back to you," he says. I pout.

"Pwease Austy," I say batting my eyes.

"It doesn't work on me either," he says, his face emotionless. I roll my eyes.

"Fine," I mutter. "You better be glad you're my best friend or I'd kill you right now." He smiles triumphantly and walks back over to me. We take our places on the wall. He puts my book on the opposite side of him.

"Thanks for putting forth the effort to help me get over my fears," I say wrapping him in a hug. He hugs me back, resting his chin on the top of my head.

"Anytime, Als," he says. My right hand inches for my book but Austin stops my hand.

"Do you really think I'm that naive?" Austin asks me, looking down at me and raising his eyebrows. I stick my tongue out at him and untangle myself from him. I look out the window. It's dark.

"Is it tomorrow yet?" I ask.

* * *

I wake up in the middle of the night and my hand reaches out for my book. Of course it isn't there. I sigh. I walk downstairs for a midnight snack. I open the freezer door and get out the Fruity Mint Swirl ice cream. It's dark so I mess around for a while until I find a spoon. I set the bucket and the spoon down on the table. I stumble over to the wall and look for the light switch. Finally I find it and turn it on. I turn around and jump. Austin's sitting at the table as quiet as can be.

"Okay, I'm convinced that you're either a mouse or a ninja," I say pouring myself a glass of milk and sitting back down at the table.

"I'm a ninja," he confirms. He slowly moves something behind him.

"What's that?" I ask worriedly.

"Nothing," he says.. He accidentally pushes it off of the table and I see it.

It's my book.

"Why do you have my book with you?" I ask.

"I-in case you got up and went to my room?" he says questioningly.

"Were you... were you reading it?" I ask. He shakes his head.

"No, you interrupted me. I just now opened it," he tells me.

"Well, don't read it," I snap. He raises his hands in surrender.

"I won't," he tells me. I look over at the clock on the wall. Five... four... three... two... one! Midnight! I extend my arms.

"Austin, it's tomorrow. Give me my book!" I say happily.

"Ha, you didn't understand what I said. I didn't exactly mean tomorrow. I really meant when we get to the place," he tells me.

"That would've been useful information _yesterday_," I snap. He smiles.

"So why are you up?" I ask.

"Just excited for tomorrow," he says. "So I couldn't sleep."

"You want me over my fears _that _bad?" I ask. He laughs.

"No, I'm just excited for the place we're going to!" he tells me.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"We're going to S-hey, I told you not to do that," he says. I smirk because he almost fell for it again.

"Couldn't you just tell me?" I ask resting my chin on my hands and my hands on the table. "It would make your life a whole lot easier." He shakes his head.

"That would ruin the fun," he says smiling. I try to blow a strand out of my face because I don't feel like moving. This position is too comfortable. But every time I blow it, it falls right back into place. I sigh and just try to ignore it. But it's making my nose itch. Austin notices my dilemma and tucks the strand of hair behind my ear. I smile and next thing I know, I'm asleep.

* * *

**Alright, so who knows where they're going? Anyone? Review what you think! Gosh, this is a long chapter. It's longer than 5,000 words! This is the longest chapter of this story! :D Review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	8. Chapter 8

**Me: Raini, your turn.**

**Raini: Aw, they're so cute together! Anyway, Kenzie doesn't own Austin & Ally or most of the songs.**

**Me: Thank you, Raini.**

**Raini: Oh, my gosh! Kenzie, why did you do that? That would be scary.**

**Me: Shhhhhh, Raini!**

* * *

I wake up at the sound of my name.

"Yes?" I ask without opening my eyes.

"It's time to get up! It'll take a little while to get there!" a voice exclaims. I feel my eyelids being pulled open. I see Austin. I slap his hands away and sit up.

"Will you get off of me?" I ask as politely as possible. He pretends to think.

"Nope," he says. I push him onto the floor.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"About seven in the morning," he tells me.

"Why are we up that early?" I mumble.

"Because we need to leave early if we want to get there early," he says, still on the floor.

"Can't we just be late?" I ask. I roll over and pull my covers over my head. Wait a minute, why am I in my bed? Did Austin carry me up here...?

"No, Ally!" he yells. He snatches my blanket off of me and my legs begin freezing because I decided to wear shorts to bed last night.

"Ally, come on! Get up!" Austin shouts. I sit back up and look at him standing at the foot of my bed. I stand up.

"Alright, I'm up," I say. "Bring me some cereal?"

"Of course, Als," Austin says tapping my chin. He leaves my room and I close the door. I throw some clothes on and yawn. Austin walks into my room a few minutes later. He laughs.

"What's so funny?" I ask.

"Als, it might be smart to put your skirt on your legs and your shirt on your torso," he tells me, his eyes sweeping up and down my body. I look down. He's right. My skirt is where my blouse should be and my blouse is where my skirt should be.

"Shut up," I snap as he puts the bowl of cereal on my side table.

"So can you tell me where we're going?" I ask, walking into my closet.

"Nope," Austin says. He sounds like he has something in his mouth. I strip off my clothes to switch them around.

"Are you eating my cereal?" I ask. I hear the clang of a spoon against glass. I slip my blouse onto my torso.

"No!" he exclaims.

"Wow," I say. I roll my eyes.

"I'll be downstairs," he says. I hear his footsteps leaving my room. I put my skirt back on and walk over to my bed. I eat some of my cereal. It tastes disgusting with this morning taste. Nevertheless, I finish my cereal and walk downstairs.

"Ah, that looks much better, Ally," Austin says. I roll my eyes and wash my bowl. I put it on the drying rack.

"You ready to go?" Austin asks me.

"Has anyone seen my purse?" Mimi asks, walking into the kitchen.

"It's on the counter, Mom," Austin says, staring down at his phone.

"Who ya textin'?" I ask.

"Dez. He's mad at me 'cause I'm not taking him with us to Super Funland," he tells me. His eyes widen. "Dang it!"

"Super Funland? What does that have to do with me getting over my... f-fears?" I ask. I understand now. He's gonna make me ride all of the rides that I'm afraid of.

"Come on, Ally! It'll be fun!" he exclaims. "You used to love that place."

"Yeah, you're right. Maybe we'll have fun," I say smiling.

"Of course we will!" Austin tells me. I finish getting ready and we leave for Super Funland... Austin and I sit in the backseat and Mimi drives.

"You excited?" Austin asks, poking me. I shrug but he keeps poking me.

"Would you stop poking me?" I ask him. He shakes his head. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you take Dez to Super Funland instead of me?"

"Sorry, can't do that," he says shaking his head. I start poking him too. We poke each other all the way to Super Funland. Super Funland is a lot bigger than I remember it... and the roller coaster is twice as scary... Austin opens the door and climbs out, pulling me with him.

"Thanks for driving us, Mom, I'll see you later," Austin says through the front seat window. She nods and drives away.

"She's not coming with us?" I ask him. He shakes his head. I watch her car get farther and farther away as Austin pulls me to the ticket stand. Austin buys our tickets. He has the biggest smile on his face. A child-like smile. An adorable smile... Austin's voice interrupts my thoughts.

"You ready, Als?" he asks. I look inside the large, gold-painted gates. Little kids are running around everywhere. There are also a bunch of teenagers waiting in line for the House of Terrors, the large roller coasters. Shouldn't they close the House of Terrors? It isn't Halloween. I swallow.

"Y-yeah," I tell him. We walk inside.

"Where do you wanna go first?" Austin asks, looking around. I do the same and notice a cart.

"How about the pickle cart?" I ask, starting to walk towards it. Austin grabs my elbow to stop me.

"Nope, we need to ride something first," he says. I sigh and look around again.

"Teacups?" I ask pointing to them.

"Bigger," he says simply.

"Octopus?" I ask.

"Bigger," he repeats.

"Hurricane?"

"Come on, Als, really?" he asks.

"Well, why don't you pick then?" I ask. That was a mistake. He immediately pulls me toward an unknown location. He's pulling me to the pirate ship.

"Austin, no," I say.

"We have to start somewhere," he tells me.

Once we get to the ride, we sit down and put the belts on to restrain us from falling out. It takes a few minutes to get everyone else that was in line situated. Right when the ride starts, Austin holds his hand out to me. I take it. It's very slow at first. Then it gets faster and faster... and higher and higher... And my grip on Austin's hand gets tighter and tighter. Then it stops at the top... I hate when it does this. This is my least favorite part. It stays there for a few milliseconds then it spins quickly to the other side. I'm screaming the whole time, as are a few other people. It gets slower and finally it stops. I stagger off of the ride and Austin follows me.

"That was awesome!" he exclaims. "Don't you think?"

"Yeah, sure it was amazing," I say. I wasn't as afraid because Austin was there but that didn't stop me from almost throwing up. I wince as Austin takes out my book and crosses it off.

"What's next?" I ask.

"The Frisbee," he says happily.

"The what?" I ask. He leads me over and points at it.

"There's no way in _hell _that I'm riding that," I say.

"Okay, okay, it isn't on your list, so I won't make you ride it... Can I ride it?!" he asks.

"Sure," I say. He hands me my book and stands in line. I open my book and look inside. _This page is bent_! I'm going to kill him. It isn't long before I hear Austin's screams of excitement from the top of the ride. When it's over, Austin comes back to me, slightly dizzy. I wince again as he takes my book back and we go over to... the Drop Tower. I start backing away from it but Austin doesn't let me.

"It's on your list," he reminds me. I sigh and we get on it. I take Austin's hand in mine immediately. It slowly rises to the top. It stops there for bit to let us get ready.

"Austin, I'm having second-" The ride drops as I scream "Thoughts!"

"Whoo!" Austin screams as we go down. It slows and comes to rest at the bottom. We ride a few more rides and Austin crosses them off. Then we go to get something to eat.

"I'll just have a grape snow cone," I tell the man, "and a water." It's about noon so the sun is at its peak. It's really hot.

"I'll have the same," Austin says.

"Two grape snow cones and two waters coming right up for the happy couple," the man says. Austin and I start to protest but he's already gone. I look down and notice that I'm still holding Austin's hand from the last ride. I let go of it. The man gives us our snow cones and waters and we sit down.

I'm really having fun with Austin. I didn't think I would but I really am. That's a surprise, huh? I sink my teeth into my freezing snow cone and break some off. I really wish Mimi would have stayed, though... Wait a minute, I take that back. Then she would have been like, 'Aw, you two are holding hands! Blah, blah, blah!' And that would have been a-w-k-w-a-r-d. Very awkward.

"Ally!" Austin snaps his fingers in my face. I blink.

"Huh?" I ask.

"I've been asking you the same question for, like, three minutes," he says.

"I'm sorry. What was the question?" I ask.

"I asked you if you were having fun," he tells me.

"Oh, yeah! I'm having a lot more fun than I thought I would." I say.

"Good," he says smiling. Once we finish our snow cones, I look over at Austin.

"What are we riding next?" I ask eagerly. He opens my book. For once, it doesn't bother me.

"Next is... the Gravitron..." he says.

"The Gravitron?" I ask. "Let's do this!" I jump up. He raises his eyebrows.

"Wow," he says picking up our waters and standing up. "You're excited to go on a ride? Who are you and what have you done with Ally Dawson?"

"I've locked her in the basement," I tell him with a laugh. We run to the Gravitron. Once we're in it, my stomach drops. I reach for Austin's hand and he reaches for mine. The ride starts spinning.

"Ohhh," I groan. Even Austin looks a little uneasy. Once it's finally over, I sigh and throw up in the nearest trash can.

"Look at that color! It's purple!" Austin exclaims staring into the trash can. I groan.

"Gross," I say, trying _not _to look in the trash can.

"Alright, there are only a few more things on the list," Austin says, looking in my book. "Roller coaster, Ferris wheel, and... Really, Ally? You're afraid of the swings?"

"Yes!" I say defensively. He rolls his eyes and we go there first, leaving the scarier things for later. The line is short and we get on after just a few minutes. As soon as the swings are in the air, I want to feel Austin's hand in mine but he's too far away. So I hang onto the swing chain for dear life. The swings actually weren't that scary once it was over though. We walk over to the roller coaster and see that the line is very long.

"Why don't we go somewhere else and wait for the line to get shorter?" I suggest. Austin agrees and we ride a lot of different rides.

"The line is probably still pretty long," I tell him.

"Well, there's nothing else to ride. We've ridden basically everything in the park except for the kiddie rides," he complains. We're saving the Ferris wheel for last. You know, finish the day off with something calm.

"Fine, let's go wait in line," I sigh. The line has gotten a bit shorter but it's still about three or four hours before we get to the front. It's starting to get dark. They have to run the ride through one more time before we can get on. I don't watch but I hear blood-curdling screams from the top of the hill. They get louder as the roller coaster goes down it. Austin's making us ride in the front so this should be... fun? We sit down and buckle our belts. When everyone is situated and the ride starts, I scream.

"Als, the ride hasn't even started yet," Austin whispers to me.

"I know but it's scary," I whisper back. The ride goes up the hill slowly and stops at the top.

"You ready?" Austin asks. I take his hand and sigh.

"I'm ready," I say. The car shoots forward and down the hill. I scream at the top of my lungs. Now my scream is legitimate. The car whips around a corner and slows down again as it goes up the second hill. It stops... then drops down the hill. It slows down and comes to a complete stop. I think it's over but we aren't back at the beginning of the ride. Suddenly, the car goes backwards, around the corners, up the hills, and back to the beginning. I blink and stumble out of the car. I let go of Austin's hand and he sighs in relief. His hand is blue.

"I'm sorry," I tell him.

"It's fine," he says taking out my book. He glances at me. "Are you alright?"

"I think I'm still... scared of it," I say.

"Would you like to come back and ride it again tomorrow?" he asks smirking.

"No! No! I'm not scared anymore!" I exclaim looking back up at the roller coaster.

"Awesome," he crosses it out, "now all that's left is the Ferris wheel." It's on the other side of the park but I can still see it from here. It's so high. We make our way through the park and over to it. The line is just long enough to fill every gondola. Austin sits down in one and I hesitantly do the same.

"This should be alright," I say as it starts to make its way to the top. But again, I have to hold Austin's hand. It goes around a few times and Austin and I keep a light conversation to pass the time. On its last spin when Austin and I are at the very top, there's an ear-piercing screech. My stomach drops as I look over at Austin and see the fright on his face. My worst fear has been confirmed. The wheel has stopped turning and we're stuck at. The. Very. Top...

* * *

**Some of you may have been expecting something like this. Maybe not. I don't know. But you guys are such smart guessers! Hannaluvsbananas, I was gonna use that but I decided to be corny and make up something xD But if there's a place called Super Funland, all rights go to the owners. Oh, and to all the people who asked about Cassidy: I'm not saying she's lying about having a boyfriend, I'm just saying she's an Auslly shipper ;)**

**Love, Kenzie**


	9. Chapter 9

**Me: Calum!**

**Calum: Kenzie!**

**Me: It's your turn to do the disclaimer!**

**Calum: Okay! Kenzie doesn't own Austin & Ally! It's mine! Mwahahahahaha! Okay, bye!**

**Me: Thank you, Calum!**

**Calum: You're welcome, Kenzie!**

* * *

"Austin," I whine, looking down at the ground. He gives my hand a quick squeeze.

"Ally, everything will be alright," he promises. His face is now casual but I see a bit of fear under the mask. I see something off in the distance. A shadow against the sky.

"Attention, riders!" someone exclaims into a bullhorn below us. "Something has gone wrong with the ride but everything is okay! I've already signaled for Batman so he should be on his way!" That must be what that shadow is. It does kind of look like a bat if I squint. There's a loud feedback.

"He's lying! Batman can't come help you. Don't you remember issue number 206?" another man asks. I have a feeling he wasn't asking us. The two men below us get into an argument. It's starting to get cold and I don't have a jacket. I let go of Austin's hand and bring my knees to my chest, hugging them for warmth. Austin wraps his arms around me and rubs my arm for a second before letting go. He takes his jacket off and puts it around me.

"Aren't you going to be cold?" I ask.

"I'll be fine," he tells me but I see him shiver. I take his jacket off and wrap it around us both. It's just big enough to fit around us.

"Okay! We've notified an attendant and they say someone will be on their way as soon as they can!" the second man yells into the bullhorn.

"We're not sure when that will be though so just sit tight and try not to freeze to death!" the first man yells. I whimper.

"Austin, I'm scared," I tell him, leaning into his chest. He's incredibly warm despite the cold weather.

"It'll be fine. Just try not to think about it," Austin advises.

**Austin's POV:**

Ally is so scared. I feel so bad for her. If I could, I would make this thing start moving again just so she wouldn't be afraid anymore. When she's afraid, it makes her seem even smaller and more fragile than she already is. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I take it out.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Austin, where are you two at? I'm waiting in the parking lot," my mom says.

"Sorry, Mom, we're stuck at the-" I drop my phone. It falls down in front of the two men. It has an Otter Box on it so it shouldn't get too banged up.

"Dude! Free iPhone!" one of the men yell.

"Sweet!" the other yells. Great. I put my arm back around Ally and rub her arm.

"You can call her from my phone," Ally says shakily. She's so cold _and _scared. She gives me her phone. I scroll through her contacts but I see something before I can get to my mom's name.

_Cassidy From Jewelry Store (Austy's Crush)_

"You have Cassidy's number?" I ask her. She stiffens in my arms. "And you didn't tell me?"

"W-well she gave it to me... t-to... If I tell you this, you can't get mad at me," she says, her voice still shaking.

"I won't," I tell her.

"She said that she'd want to go out with you if she didn't have a boyfriend and that she wants to be friends with you," she says quietly. Anger boils up inside of me.

"Ally!" I yell angrily.

"You said you wouldn't get mad!" she yells back, small tears forming in her eyes.

"Well, it's hard not to!" I throw her phone into the gondola and turn away from her.

"I'm sorry," she mutters, hugging her knees again. "I thought that you'd think that she wanted to go out with you."

"You could have just told me that she wanted to be friends. I would've understood," I tell her. She doesn't say anything.

"I can't believe you're blaming _me _for this. It isn't my fault that sometimes you don't understand things I say. You barely _ever _understand things I say! Because you don't listen!" she yells. She turns away from me and when she sees the ground, she just stares at the floor of the gondola. It's a while before the Ferris wheel is repaired. We walk out into the parking lot. My mom wraps Ally and I in a hug as soon as she sees us.

"I was so worried about you! What happened to you two?!" she asks worriedly.

"The Ferris wheel got stuck," Ally mumbles.

"What's wrong?" my mom asks Ally, releasing us.

"Nothing, I'm just tired," she mutters. She rubs her eyes to prove it but I can tell that it's only because I'm mad at her. I sigh. Ally and I sit on opposite sides of the backseat. Well, this day was great until the end.

* * *

Why can't I ever sleep at night anymore? I was able to sleep until Ally came... _Ally._

Why didn't she just give me Cassidy's number? I really would have understood. I walk downstairs and notice something. The sliding door is open. I glance out and see Ally floating on her back. She's also singing.

_You're insecure_

_Don't know for_

In her bikini. I gave her back her other swimsuit, didn't I? I guess my song really spoke to her.

_You're turnin' heads when you walk through the door_

_Don't need makeup_

_To cover up_

I've also noticed that she was wearing a bit less makeup today.

_Bein' the way that you are is enough_

_Everyone else in the room can see it_

_Everyone else but you_

_Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

It's true. She does. Friends do that.

_The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

And it does. Every time she flips her hair, I get a weird feeling in my stomach. It's uncomfortable but... I kind of like it.

_But when you smile at the ground_

_It ain't hard to tell:_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_If only you saw what I can see_

_You'd understand why they want you so desperately_

She'd think I was crazy if she knew what I originally wrote. I accidentally wrote 'You'd understand why _I _want you so desperately'. _I_. It was an accident. I was just writing.

_Right now I'm lookin' at you and I can't believe_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

She is beautiful. Very beautiful. I don't understand how she doesn't know that.

_Oh, oh_

_That's what makes you beautiful_

_So c-come on_

_You've got it wrong_

_To prove I'm right_

_I put it_

_In a song_

Maybe she _does _believe it now.

_I don't know why_

_You're bein' shy_

_And turn away_

_When I look into your eyes  
_

_Everyone else in the room can see it_

_Everyone else but you_

_Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

_The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

_But when you smile at the ground_

_It ain't hard to tell:_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_If only you saw what I can see_

_You'd understand why they want you so desperately_

_Right now I'm lookin' at you_

_And I can't believe_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_Oh, oh_

_That's what makes you beautiful_

_Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na_

_Na, na, na, na, na, na_

_Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na_

_Na, na, na, na, na, na_

_Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

_The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

_But when you smile at the ground_

_It ain't hard to tell:_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

_The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

_But when you smile at the ground_

_It ain't hard to tell:_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_If only you saw what I can see_

_You'd understand why they want you so desperately_

_Right now I'm lookin' at you_

_And I can't believe_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_Oh, oh_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_That's what makes you beautiful_

"Austin, can I talk to you?" she asks. My eyes widen. How did she know I was here?

"I actually saw you this time," she says as if she read my mind. I walk over and kneel at the edge of the pool and she swims to it.

"Austin, I'm going to be here all summer. It's only been a few days," she says. I open my mouth to say something but she won't let me. "Let me talk. Shut up," she snaps. I close my mouth.

"Do you really want to spend the summer mad at me?" she asks.

**Ally's POV:**

It's the same speech Mimi gave to me. Hopefully, it'll get through to him too. He sighs.

"You're right, Ally. I'm sorry. I mean, it would have been nice to have her number... while I had a phone," he says. He smiles slightly.

"Hey, I just realized something," I say. He raises his eyebrows.

"Give me my book!" I yell hitting his shoulder.

"And if I don't?" he asks, smirking.

"I may or may not have to kill you," she says.

"Alright, alright, I'll go get it," he tells me. He walks away and I can't help but notice how surprisingly warm it is compared to Super Funland. Austin comes back with my book and I gesture to the table.

"I don't want to get it wet," I say as he puts it on the table. "So are you coming in?" He shakes his head.

"I'm too lazy to get my trunks on," he tells me.

"Who said anything about having to get your trunks on?" I ask as he kneels beside the pool again.

"What?" he asks. I pull him into the pool. "You really gotta stop doing that," he jokes when he comes back up.

* * *

"Ally, Ally, Ally!" Austin exclaims, running out into the living room. "Guess what I heard?!"

"What?" I ask.

"There's a concert at Super Funland today. We have to go!" Austin yells.

"Who's playing?" I ask. He shrugs.

"I dunno but it's a free concert! So who cares?" he asks. That night, Mimi drove us back to Super Funland about thirty minutes before the concert but she stayed with us this time. Now Austin's staring at some poster.

"What's that?" I ask.

"Should I sign up?" he asks.

"Sign up for what?" I ask, trying to see.

"It's a contest. 'Enter For A Chance To Sing With McFly!'" he reads.

"McFly is the band that's playing?! That's, like, our favorite band! Of course you should sign up!" I exclaim. He scribbles down his name and I can tell he was getting excited.

"Ally, what if I win? That would be amazing!" he tells me.

"That would be amazing! I know all of their songs on piano!" I exclaim. I smile. A man comes and takes down the list. He walks over to a table and starts writing down the names on small slips of paper.

"Good thing you signed up just then," I tell Austin. He nods in agreement. It seems like forever before they're announcing the winner.

"Alright, so everyone here wants a chance to sing with McFly, right?!" the announcer asks the crowd. Everyone screams including Austin, Mimi, and I.

"Well it's time! Are you ready? Say 'yeah!'" he yells into the microphone.

"Yeah!" everyone shouts.

"Whoo!" Someone brings him a slip of paper. "And the winner is..." he opens the slip of paper, "Austin Moon!" Austin's eyes widen as I push him forward. I have to push him all the way backstage. It's very... low-quality back here. Probably because they had to build the stage quickly.

"Ally, what if I'm not good enough?" Austin asks me, turning to look at me.

"Austin, you'll be good enough. Trust me; you're amazing," I encourage him. He smiles.

"Thanks, Als," he says. I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and a scream escapes my lips.

"Tom Fletcher..." I say dreamily. He's the whole reason I love McFly!

"'Ello, love," he says. I let out a happy sigh. Tom Fletcher just called me 'love'! He raises my hand to his lips.

"How are you today?" he asks.

"I'm much better now that you've talked to me," I say breathlessly. He smiles.

"Are you ready to do this, mate?" he asks Austin. He nods vigorously. They all walk out onstage and I watch them.

_Crashin' into walls_

_Bangin' on your door_

_So why'd you let me in?_

_Fallin' through the floor_

_Divin' in too deep_

_Underneath your skin_

_So good you've got to abuse it_

_So fast that sometimes you lose it_

_It chews you up when you feed it_

_But everyone needs to eat_

_Am I too much for you?_

_'Cause you're too much for me_

_Still wanna be_

_Corrupted_

_Let's convince ourselves_

_It's all under control_

_A storm that we can break_

_But is this what we want?_

_'Cause we might miss the hate_

_You know it feels so good_

_To make the same mistake_

_So good you've got to abuse it_

_So fast that sometimes you lose it_

_It chews you up when you feed it_

_But everyone needs to eat_

_Am I too much for you?_

_'Cause you're too much for me_

_Still wanna be_

_Corrupted_

_Do you remember how we started?_

_A fairy tale got twisted_

_And_

_Decayed_

_The innocence has all_

_Been_

_Broken_

_How did we get this way?_

_So good you've got to abuse it_

_So fast that sometimes you lose it_

_It chews you up when you feed it_

_But everyone needs to eat_

_So good you've got to abuse it_

_So fast that sometimes you lose it_

_It chews you up when you feed it_

_But everyone needs to eat_

_Am I too much for you?_

_'Cause you're too much for me_

_Still wanna be_

_Corrupted_

"Austin, you all were amazing!" I tell him when he comes offstage.

"Thanks, Als," he says smiling. They all walk off to get ready for the next song. A few minutes later, Austin runs up to me worriedly.

"Ally, Tom just got sick. You have to sit in for him!" he exclaims.

"What?!" I ask.

* * *

**So who thinks she's gonna do it? Who thinks she won't? Obviously, Austin was gonna win because I just had to fix the contest xD Sorry for the sucky disclaimer. Had to be quick. Almost didn't update in time. Anyway, review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	10. Chapter 10

_Sometimes you forgive people, not because they deserve it, but simply because you still want them in your life..._

_-Unknown_

* * *

"No," I say firmly.

"Come on, Ally! You said you knew all of their songs," he tells me.

"But... I can't, Austin!" I exclaim.

"Please, Ally," Danny says. "For us."

"Yes, for us," Harry chimes in.

"We're depending on you," Dougie says.

"But-but, I have horrible stage fright," I tell him.

"Ally! Ally! Ally! Ally! Ally! Ally!" Austin, Danny, Dougie, and Harry chant altogether. I shake my head.

"Please, Ally, you have to do this," Tom says, walking up to me slowly. "Not just for McFly but for all of the fans." I sigh. This is hard now that Tom has asked me. I shake my head.

"I'm sorry, Tom," I say.

"Don't let me down, love," Tom begs. I sigh.

"I have a compromise," I say.

"Oh, no, not a compromise," Austin groans.

"I'll play... if Austin plays his song," I say.

"You write songs?" Tom asks Austin. He nods.

"Well, you must play it!" Tom says. Everyone agrees except Austin.

"I don't know..." Austin says scratching the back of his neck.

"Come on, mate," Tom says.

"Alright, fine, but only because Ally's going to play," Austin agrees. We all walk out on stage except for Tom. I walk up to the piano and look up. That was a mistake. There are so many people out here. I whimper.

"Ally, it's alright. I'm right here," he says, now standing beside me. I look up at him and shake my head.

"I can't do this," I whisper.

"Yes you can, Ally. I know you can, he says. I shake my head again.

"I'm sorry," I say. I try to walk off the stage calmly but I trip over Harry's drums. The cymbals of the drum make a large crash when they hit the ground.

"Sorry!" I exclaim, backing away from him. I back right into Danny, knocking his guitar out of his hands and almost pushing him off the stage.

"Sorry!" I yell again. I back into someone else.

"Ally, be careful," Austin whispers in my ear.

"I'm trying," I say quietly. I look and see that there are too many instruments that way. I turn and run the opposite way. My other mistake is not looking. I crash into Dougie and we both fall offstage.

"I'm so sorry, Dougie! Are you alright?" I ask.

"I'm fine. The question is: are you alright?" he asks. I nod.

"I'm fine," I tell him. The crowd is surrounding Dougie and I. I look to the other side of the stage. If I run, it's a straight shot. I stand up and go for it. I trip over Harry's drums _again_. The drum is now ripped. I feel a sharp pain in my forehead. I see a flash of light and know that someone has taken a picture of me. I also hear laughter and see red lights everywhere. I slowly put the drum on my head so no one can see my face and crawl offstage. I sigh and take the drum off my head.

"Are you alright, love? You got pretty banged up out there," Tom tells me, sitting down beside me. He looks noticeably better...

"Ally, are you alright?!" Austin asks me worriedly. I nod my head.

"Yeah, I'm fine... physically," I mutter.

"Do you want to go home? That looks pretty bad," he tells me.

"What are you talking about?" I ask. He doesn't answer and pulls his sleeve over his hand. He presses it to my forehead and it comes back soaked with blood. He walks away to get a towel. I touch my forehead and look at my hand. It has some more blood on it. I quickly wipe it on my jeans, not caring if it leaves a stain. Austin comes back and presses the towel to my head, resulting in a stinging pain.

"Thanks, Tom, even though it didn't work," Austin says. What?

"Everything's alright, mate. I'll do anything for young love," Tom tells him. "Yours is very adorable."

"What's adorable?" Austin asks, still blotting my forehead.

"The love between you two," Tom answers. Austin drops the towel.

"We're just friends," he tells him, picking up the towel.

"Oi, I haven't seen two people this blatant in years," Tom tells us. I ignore this.

"Austin, what do you mean it didn't work?" I ask.

"Tom was acting sick so you'd get over your stage fright but it didn't work how I wanted it to," Austin says. A smile crosses my face. Shouldn't I be mad at him?

"That was sweet of you," I tell him. I guess it was kind of sweet... Austin wipes my forehead once more and puts the towel down.

"Well, you're all clean, Als," Austin tells me. I smile.

"Awesome," I say.

"So do you think Harry can play with one less drum?" Austin asks Tom. He shakes his head. "How long do you think it would take to get another set of drums here?"

"We have another set on the bus," Tom says. I don't question why. They send for someone to set them up on the stage. They clean up my mess before they do. Danny's been talking to the crowd; making them laugh and stuff like that, telling them that they're just having technical difficulties, etc. They finish setting up the drums. Tom and Austin still don't go back out yet.

"Ally, would you like to play _with _me?" Tom asks.

"M-me? W-with you?" I ask. That would be incredible! If I didn't have stage fright. "I can't though."

"Austin and I will be right beside you the whole time," he promises me.

"Yeah, Als, you'll be fine. Just don't look at the crowd," he tells me. I smile and sigh.

"Okay," I finally say. "You're still gonna sing your song, right?" Austin nods. We walk out onstage and I get an idea.

"Tom, can I do something?" I whisper to him.

"Of course," he says. I take the keyboard and turn it around so it isn't facing the crowd. Tom understands and turns around to play with me. He starts playing Bubble Wrap and I chime in with him.

_I wish I could bubble_

_Wrap my heart_

_In case I fall_

_And break apart_

_I'm not God, I can't_

_Change the stars_

_And I don't know if_

_There's life on mars_

_But I know you hurt_

_The people that you love and those who care for you_

_I want nothin' to do_

_With the things you're goin' through_

_'Cause this is the last time_

_I give up this heart of mine_

_I'm tellin' you that I'm_

_A broken man who's finally realized_

_You're standin' in moonlight_

_But you're black on the inside_

_Who_

_Do you think_

_You are to cry?_

_This is goodbye_

I look at Austin's who's standing next to me, facing the crowd. He holds the microphone out to me. At first I think he's joking but he's not. He doesn't bring it back to his mouth when Tom starts to sing again.

_I'm a little dazed and confused_

Tom looks over to me, expecting me to sing.

"Come on, Ally," Austin mouths to me.

_Life's a bitch_

_And so are you_

_All my days have turned into nights_

_'Cause livin' without, without, without you in my life_

_And you wrote the book_

_On how to be a liar and lose all your friends_

_Did I mean nothin' at all?_

_Was I just another ghost that's been in your bed?_

_'Cause this is the last time_

_I give up this heart of mine_

_I'm tellin' you that I'm_

_A broken man who's finally realized_

_You're standin' in moonlight_

_But you're black on the inside_

_Who_

_Do you think_

_You are to cry?_

I stop singing and Austin pulls the microphone back to himself.

_This is goodbye_

_Yeah!_

_Turn on the radio, honey_

_'Cause every single sad song, you'll be able to relate_

_Whoa, oh!_

_Don't get all emotional, baby_

_You can never talk to me_

_You're unable to communicate_

_This is the last time_

_I give up this heart of mine_

_I'm tellin' you that I'm_

_A broken man who's finally realized!_

_This is the last time!_

_I give up this heart of mine!_

_I'm tellin' you that I'm_

_A broken man who's finally realized!_

_You're standin' in moonlight!_

_But you're black on the inside!_

_Who_

_Do you think_

_You are to cry?!_

_This is goodbye!_

_This is goodbye..._

I wouldn't say I'm over my stage fright but I am kind of proud of myself.

"Thank you! And give a hearty cheers to Austin Moon and Ally..." Tom trails off. He leans down. "What did you say your last name was?"

"Oh, they don't need to know my last name," I say shrugging.

"Dawson," Austin answers for me.

"Give a hearty cheers for Austin Moon and Ally Dawson!" he yells. The audience screams. Some are screaming "McFly!" and some are screaming "Tom Fletcher!" Some are screaming "Danny Jones!" and some are screaming "Harry Judd!" Some are screaming "Dougie Poynter!" and some are screaming "Austin Moon!" I'm just glad they aren't screaming "Ally Dawson!"

"Especially Ally Dawson! It took a lot of courage for her to get up here and do this!" he yells. "Can I have a round of applause for Ally Dawson?" The crowd applauds loudly.

"Ally! Ally! Ally! Ally!" they chant.

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" I tell Austin then I run off stage. Oddly enough, I don't run into a thing. He runs after me.

"Ally, that was amazing!" he tells me.

"Thanks, Austin," I say weakly. "That was the worst feeling ever... but also the best..."

"How was it the worst?" he asks. "The whole crowd was chanting your name! They loved you!"

"Yeah, but... I don't know. I guess it's just my stage fright kicking in," I tell him.

"Austin, they're waiting for you," Harry tells us.

"Come on, Ally," Austin says.

"What? Why?" I ask.

"I can't play it without you," he says.

"What song are you playing?" I ask.

"What Makes You Beautiful," he answers.

"You can play that by yourself," I say with a wave of dismissal.

"I can't actually. Not without the inspiration of the song," he tells me. I reach for my book.

"Give me a minute," I say. Harry walks out onstage.

"There's one more song but we're taking a break!" he says into the microphone.

_Stop_

_Hidin' out in the shadows_

_Scared to show the world you exist_

_Don't_

_Lock yourself in the darkness_

_The world is so much brighter than this_

_Yeah, if you never take a shock_

_You're never gonna win_

_So turn it all around_

_And break down the walls_

_Oh, whoa_

_Come on and give it everything you can_

_Take a chance_

_Make a stand_

_And break_

_Break_

_Break down the walls_

_Oh, whoa_

_Break down the walls_

_Oh, whoa_

_Break down the walls_

_Oh, whoa_

_Come on and_

_Take a chance_

_Make a stand_

_And break_

_Break_

_Break down the walls_

_Break down the walls..._

"What are you humming?" Austin asks, trying to read what I've written. I close my book slowly.

"Nothing. Let's do this," I say smiling. I set down my book and we walk onstage. Austin picks up a guitar and I face the crowd with a burst of confidence... but then I turn to run off stage. Austin catches me and won't let me run.

"Just look into my eyes. Not at the crowd. At me," he tells me. I take a step back and look into his eyes. I search his eyes for the golden flecks and try counting them. Obviously, it's impossible because there's so many but it'll make me forget about the crowd. The microphone is at the perfect spot. It's not between Austin and I but it's where he can sing into it. Austin starts the guitar and McFly adds their instruments into it and it sounds even better.

_You're insecure_

_Don't know what for_

_You're turnin' heads when you walk through the door_

_Don't need makeup_

_To cover up_

_Bein' the way that you are is enough_

_Everyone else in the room can see it_

_Everyone else but you_

_Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

_The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

_But when you smile at the ground_

_It ain't hard to tell:_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_If only you saw what I can see_

_You'd understand why I want you so desperately_

Did he just say 'I'? 'I'? '_I_'? He doesn't pay it any attention though.

_Right now I'm lookin' at you and I can't believe_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_Oh, oh_

_That's what makes you beautiful_

_So c-come on_

_You've got it wrong_

_To prove I'm right_

_I put it_

_In a song_

_I don't know why_

_You're bein' shy_

_And turn away when I look into your eyes_

_Everyone else in the room can see it_

_Everyone else but you_

_Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

_The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

_But when you smile at the ground_

_It ain't hard to tell:_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_If only you saw what I can see_

_You'd understand why I want you so desperately_

There he goes again. What the hell?

_Right now I'm lookin' at you and I can't believe_

_You don't know_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_Oh, oh_

_That's what makes you beautiful_

___Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na_

___Na, na, na, na, na, na_

___Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na_

___Na, na, na, na, na, na_

___Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

___The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

___But when you smile at the ground_

___It ain't hard to tell:_

___You don't know_

___You don't know you're beautiful_

___Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

___The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

___But when you smile at the ground_

___It ain't hard to tell:_

___You don't know_

___You don't know you're beautiful_

___If only you saw what I can see_

___You'd understand why they want you so desperately_

___Right now I'm lookin' at you_

___And I can't believe_

___You don't know_

___You don't know you're beautiful_

___Oh, oh_

___You don't know you're beautiful_

___That's what makes you beautiful_

"Awww!" the crowd yells when Austin stops playing. I just stare at him.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" I wish people would stop chanting. It's really starting to irk me. I stomp off of the stage.

"What's wrong, love?" Tom asks, following me.

"It's nothing," I mutter. I grab my songbook and walk out to the car, ignoring Mimi. I realize that the car is locked so I just lean against it.

"What's wrong, Ally?" Mimi asks, catching up to me. I turn away from her.

"I'm sick of everyone always thinking Austin and I are in love when we're not!

"Ally..." Mimi says but I ignore her.

"I would never fall for a guy like Austin!"

"Ally..."

"Austin just _is not my type_!" I scream.

"Am I really that bad?" a small voice asks from behind me. I turn around.

"Of course not," I tell Austin quickly. "You're just not my type. Any girl would be lucky to have you though. I'm good with just being your friend." He nods in understanding.

"Austin! Did you write that song?" Tom asks, walking up.

"Uh, y-yeah, but it was my first so it isn't really that good," Austin says shrugging.

"Are you joking? That was amazing!" Tom exclaims.

"Really?!" Austin asks.

"Yes, do you mind if I have your contact information? We have to leave now so there isn't much time to talk," he says. Austin gives him the information.

"It may be a while before we get back with you. We have a very busy schedule but we will as soon as possible," Tom promises. Austin smiles as he walks away.

"Ally!" he exclaims.

"Austin!" I exclaim. He wraps me in a hug and spins me around. I latch onto him so I won't fall. He sets me down and I drive home. Nothing big happens for a few weeks. I happen to have an odd dream the night before that big something happens. I have an odd dream...

"_Ally, guess what?!" Austin asks me excitedly, coming up out of the pool water._

"_What?" I ask, smiling._

_The blue drops of water glisten in his hair. They really compliment the gold in his eyes. He looks like an angel. I see the wings on his back. A golden halo forms around his head. He climbs out of the water and pulls me with him. The sunshine dances in his hair and on his wet chest. I have the urge to reach over and touch it but I can't. Then Austin would know that I like him._

"_I love you, Ally Dawson," he tells me. He does?! I open my mouth but no words come out. "H-how do you feel about me?" he asks nervously._

"_I-I love you, too, Austin Moon," I finally whisper. He leans down and kisses me. This time, I kiss back without hesitating. I don't like Austin. That's for sure. Austin wraps his arms around my waist and I wrap mine around his neck. But there one thing that _is _for sure..._

"I'm in love with Austin Moon!" I yell, waking up and sitting up straight.

* * *

**What's up everybody?! Sorry that it's kind of late tonight but I've been distracted by watching Austin & Ally... and Twitter... and a bunch of other stuff. Sorry for no disclaimer. I wanted to tell you the quote for this story :) And I am _so _proud of myself! Usually, by chapter ten, Austin and Ally are already together but they're not! So... :D Anyway, review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	11. Chapter 11

**Me: Noah, it's your turn to do the disclaimer.**

**Noah: Cool, Kenzie doesn't own Austin & Ally or any of the songs.**

**Me: Thanks, here's the story.**

I didn't mean to say that. I don't mean it. Do I? There's no way... unless... No. I'm not. I just can't be. Austin runs into my room and my heart stops momentarily.

"Are you alright, Ally? I heard you yell," he says sleepily.

"D-did you hear what I yelled?" I ask worriedly.

"The walls aren't that thin, Als," Austin says. "Why? What'd you yell?" I shake my head.

"Nothing. I'm alright. You can go back to bed," I tell him. He smiles at me and leaves my room. I exhale heavily. So he didn't hear it. That's good. I take out my phone. Trish won't mind me waking her up.

"Ally, what do you want? It's four in the morning!" Trish complains.

"Trish, do you think it's possible that I'm in love with Austin?" I get straight to the point. Trish would get mad if I didn't.

"I don't know. I guess. You've been friends forever. You've heard all those stories about people falling in love with their best friend," she tells me. Even though she's tired, she makes a lot of sense. I sigh.

"Ally, don't let me decide if you are or not. Don't let your head decide either. Just let your heart decide for you. Listen to your heart. It usually makes the best decisions," she tells me. I need to talk to her more in the middle of the night. "I'm going to sleep." Then she hangs up the phone.

I shrug. It was just a dream. People have weird dreams like that all the time. Maybe I keep having dreams about kissing Austin because he was my first kiss. Yeah, that's it. I really hate how he did that. He took my first kiss and yanked it right out from under me. It'll be his forever. That's not even fair. I sigh and lie down, unable to sleep. I toss and turn for hours. It's morning now. I have an odd feeling in my stomach... It's not very comfortable... I grab the trash can that's beside my bed and throw up in it.

**Austin's POV:**

I couldn't sleep last night at all. I really want to know what Ally said but it didn't seem like it was that big of a deal. I've been a bit off around Ally lately because a few nights ago, I made a huge decision. I've decided that I _am _in love with Allyson Marie Dawson.

I don't dare say it out loud though. I'm afraid of how it will sound. I felt something in that kiss. At first, I didn't know what it was but then I knew. And I won't tell Ally because she doesn't like me like that. I understand that.

Why would girl like Ally want a guy like me when she can have any other guy?

I hear the phone ring downstairs. Mom will get it.

"Austin! Someone's on the phone for you!" she calls up the stairs. I go to her and take the phone.

"Hello?" I answer.

"'Ello, mate. Tom Fletcher here," he says. I almost drop the phone.

"Tom! Hi! How have you been?" I ask.

"All right. How have you been?" he asks.

"I've been good," I tell him.

"So, we want to know if you'll come out and do another show with us in Los Angeles," he says.

"Really?!" I ask excitedly. "Of course I will!" We talk a little longer about the details and hang up. I run up to Ally's room to tell her the good news.

"Ally! Ally! Al-are you alright?" I ask when I walk into her room.

"Yeah, I'm just sick," she murmurs before throwing up in the trash can.

"So what's up?" she asks weakly. I sit down beside her on her bed.

"Tom just called but that doesn't matter. You need to get some rest," I say, covering her with her blanket.

"Tom called?" she asks excitedly. "Does he want to do another concert with you?" I bite my lip.

"Yeah, he wants to do one tonight but I can't leave you," I tell her. She shakes her head.

"Austin, you have to go," she tells me.

"Not at a time like this," I say. She throws up again.

"Just go," she says smiling.

"I can't," I say.

"Go."

"No."

"Go."

"No."

"Go."

"No."

"Go."

"Ally!" I exclaim. "I'm not leaving."

"Mimi can take care of me," she says.

"You can argue all you want. I'm not leaving," I tell her.

"Fine, Mr. Persistent," she says. I smirk.

"I'm gonna go make you some soup," I tell her. I walk downstairs.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready to leave?" my mom asks me. I shake my head.

"No, Ally's sick so I'm gonna stay with her," I say.

"I can take care of her," she tells me.

"I don't want something to happen and me not be here," I say. She sighs.

"You're not gonna give up on this, are you?" she asks. I shake my head.

"Nope," I tell her. My mom makes Ally some soup and I bring it up to her. I hand it to her and she puts some in her mouth.

"Just to warn you: I made that soup," I tell her. She spits it back into the bowl. "I'm kidding. My mom made it," I tell her. She starts eating it again and when she's done, she turns to me.

"Austin, you need to go," she says.

"Ally, I don't care how much you argue, I'm not leaving," I say. She gives me many reasons on why I should go. Even when she's angry and sick, she's still as beautiful as ever.

"Austin, this could be your chance. I know you dream of being a rockstar. What if-?"

"It's not like they're gonna want me to go on tour with them just for one tiny concert," I tell her.

"Yeah, but-"

"I'm not leaving."

"But Austin-"

"I'm. Not. Leaving."

"Austin, you-!"

"No," I say firmly. "I'm not leaving and that's final." She sighs.

"Fine," she mutters. "But if you get sick, don't blame me."

"I'm gonna go call Tom and tell him that I can't come," I say.

"Can you bring the phone up here? I want to talk to him," she tells me. I smile and tap her chin.

"'Course, Als," I say. I walk downstairs, grab the phone, and bring it upstairs. I dial Tom's number and put the phone on speakerphone.

"'Ello?" he answers.

"Hey, Tom, I can't come to the concert. Ally's sick," I tell him.

"Aw, well that's too bad. I've gotten Jimmy Starr to come and he wanted to hear you perform," he tells me.

"Jimmy Starr?! Of Starr Records?!" I ask, standing up. "Sweet!"

"Well, I guess we'll have to reschedule. But he's as busy as we are. Maybe even busier. It might be a while before we can do this again. It may even be a once-in-a-lifetime chance," he tells me. My face falls and I sit down.

"I'm sorry that I'm sick, Tom. I tried to get him to go to the concert but he won't budge. He's being very stubborn," Ally says with a pointed look at me.

"Well, I've got to leave now. Bye, Austin, Ally," Tom says.

"Bye, Tom," Ally and I say together. I hang up the phone and see that Ally is glaring at me.

"What?" I ask. She hits my shoulder.

"You need to go!" she yells at me.

"I told you! I'm not leaving you!" I yell back. She yells the same reasons she told me earlier except she adds a few more.

"This could be your big break, Austin!" she yells. "You might not get this chance again! If you go, he might like you and want to sign you! You-" I cut her off with a kiss. Why am I doing this? I need to stop. But her lips are so soft... Dude, she's not even kissing back. Let her breath. I pull away, furious with myself for letting that go on longer than it needed to.

"D-didn't we talk about this?" she asks me. I come right out and say it.

"Ally, I've decided that I _am_ in love with you." Here it comes. 'I don't love you back, Austin. I'm sorry.' She puts her hand on my neck.

"Austin, I love you... but only as a best friend. You're the perfect boy... but... not the perfect boy for me," she tells me.

"I know. I understand. I knew you'd say that," I tell her shaking my head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"It's fine, Austin. I promise," she tells me. I made a mistake. I know that. It isn't long before Ally falls asleep.

_She said_

"_You're the perfect boy_

_But not the perfect boy for me."_

_And I disagree_

_I think we go together perfectly_

_We could be for real_

_I could cop a feel_

_I say you come a little closer and I tell you what's the deal_

_And maybe you know something I don't know_

_The one thing I know for sure is you're_

_The one for me and basically_

_I'm lost without you guiding me_

_Please don't say goodbye to me_

Should I go? I go downstairs.

"Mom, I'm going to Los Angeles. Watch Ally for me," I tell her.

**So, the song in this chapter was Ain't Fallin' In Love by Secret Secret Dino Club. I have to leave my house so sorry it's so short. PurpleDreamer99, nope I didn't make up that quote. I read it somewhere. Anyway, review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	12. Chapter 12

**Me: Laura...**

**Laura: *kissing Ross***

**Me: Ross...**

**Ross: *kissing Laura***

**Me: Laura!**

**Laura: Sorry, Kenzie. She doesn't own Austin & Ally but it'd be pretty cool if she did.**

**Me: Thank you, Laura.**

* * *

"I'm so glad you could make it, mate," Tom says when I walk up to him.

* * *

**Ally's POV:**

I wake up late that night.

"Where's Austin?" I ask Mimi. She's the only one in the room.

"He left... for Los Angeles," she tells me. I feel hurt. He said he wouldn't leave... but I told him to go, didn't I? Why do I feel betrayed or something then?

"Good," I say.

"He should be back anytime, though," she tells me.

"Is Ally awa... Hi, Ally," Austin says as he runs into the room. I smile at him.

"I'm sorry for leaving but-"

"Austin, I _wanted _you to go, remember?" I ask.

"Oh, yeah... Guess what?!" he asks excitedly, sitting down on my bed.

"Jimmy Starr wants to sign me!" he exclaims.

"Really?! That's amazing news!" I tell him, wrapping him in a hug.

"Uh, he wants a brand new song though. He's coming by tomorrow for the demo," he tells me.

"Why don't you just use Not A Love Song?" I ask.

"I sang that at the concert," he says.

"So we need a brand new song... by _tomorrow_?" I ask. "I don't think that's possible. Not while I'm-" I throw up in the trash can next to my bed. "-sick."

"We can try," he says hopefully.

"Sorry, Austin, you're on your own," I tell him.

* * *

_"Where are you going, Austin?" I ask._

_"I'm leaving. If I can't be with the love of my life then I'm not going to be with anyone," he says. He walks to the edge of the cliff and looks down._

_"Austin, don't, please don't," I beg. I try to walk forward but some kind of glass wall prohibits me from doing so. I beat on it, trying to break it._

_"No! Austin, stop! Don't jump! Austin, come back! Come back! Don't-!" He jumps off of the edge and I hear the splat. The glass lifts and I walk slowly to the edge. I look down at his disassembled body and tears pour down my face._

_"Austin..." I say quietly. This isn't real. It can't be._

_"Austin!" I scream. "Austin! You aren't dead!"_

_"I'm not, Ally, I'm right here," I hear a voice that sounds like Austin's say. I look behind me and see Dallas standing there._

_"You aren't Austin!" I scream as he puts his arms around me in a comforting manner. "I don't want you, Dallas! I want Austin! I want my Austy!" I struggle to get out of his grasp. I choke on the lump in my throat as I try to swallow it._

_"I want my Austy! I want my Austy!" I scream over and over again. He starts shaking me. "I want my Austy! I want my Austy! I want my Austy!" I shriek._

I jerk awake in a cold sweat but there are still arms imprisoning me. I struggle to get out of them, thinking I'm still dreaming.

"I want my Austy!" I scream again.

"Als, Als, I'm right here," Austin says. I turn around and see that he's the one holding me. I wrap my arms around him tightly, soaking his shirt with real tears. That was the worst dream I've ever had. It felt so real... So real that I cried in real life.

"Austin, don't ever leave me," I say quickly and quietly, trying hard not to continue crying. But I do anyways. I cry my eyes out.

"Shh, Ally, it's okay. I'm right here and I'm never leaving," he says, gently rocking me. "Do you want to tell me about your dream?" He stretches out on my bed and I lie across his chest.

"I... You were going to kill yourself... b-because I didn't love you back. Y-you jumped off a cliff and I sat there and cried. Dallas came and right then, I just didn't want him. I wanted you. I wanted my Austy back. I didn't want you to be dead. I wanted you to magically appear beside me or something. I just didn't want you to be dead," I say, my tears soaking Austin's shirt even more. He doesn't seem to care about that.

"Ally, I would never kill myself. It wouldn't matter if you hated me. I wouldn't do that because then you'd have to live with that and I wouldn't want you to live your life like that," he tells me.

"Oh..." I want to get off of this subject. "So have you gotten anywhere with the song?"

"Yeah, it's almost done actually," he tells me.

"Sing it for me?" I ask.

_Sometimes it feels like you lost your swag_

_You got a 'kick-me' sign coverin' the skills that you have_

_And it all looks wrong_

_When you're lookin' down_

_You get dizzy_

_Doin' 360s_

_And you can't break out_

_Even when you feel like you ain't all that_

_Just don't forget that I got your back_

_Now turn up the beat and bump that track_

_Bump that track_

_Yeah!_

_Nobody rocks it the way that you do_

_You got style_

_Pop your collar_

_'Cause you're all kinds of cool_

_You're legit_

_You're the boss_

_Even when the mic is off_

_Nobody rocks it_

_Ro-rocks it the way that you do_

_No, oh-oh-oh_

_The way that you do_

_You're off the charts_

_You're number one_

"I need one more line for the end of that. Then I'm gonna sing the chorus again," he says.

"You're really confusing. You tell me you can't write songs then you write three of them," I joke.

"I told you. You're my inspiration," he tells me. I look up at him and he looks down at me.

"You're so sweet, Austin. I could totally fall in love with you," I tell him with a wink. He frowns. "Austin, I could totally fall in love with you. Wink, wink," I say. He pushes his eyebrows together in confusion. "I could fall in love with you."

"What?" he asks.

"I'm gonna let you figure that out on your own," I say with a laugh.

"I don't... I don't get it," he says.

"You got the fire so keep burnin' it up," I sing.

"That's perfect!" he exclaims. I sit up and throw my pillow at him.

"Now get out. You're gonna get sick. You don't wanna be sick when we record the demo tomorrow, do you?" I ask.

"You're right. I'll see you tomorrow, Als," he says, leaving my room.

"Gosh, he is so stupid sometimes," I say with a laugh to myself. "But he's cute so it's alright."

**I know you smart people get what she said. I think it's a bit sudden but I needed it to happen soon. I can't just write without Auslly love. At least they both admitted it. Austin doesn't realize yet but he will, I promise. Oh, by the way, sorry it's so short. I'll try to make the next chapter longer. Anyway, if you love the show Austin & Ally, review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	13. Chapter 13

_Sometimes it feels like you lost your swag_

_You got a 'kick-me' sign coverin' the skills that you have_

_And it all looks wrong_

_When you're lookin' down_

_You get dizzy_

_Doin' 360s_

_And you can't break out_

_Even when you feel like you ain't all that_

_Just don't forget that I got your back_

_Now turn up the beat and bump that track_

_Bump that track_

_Yeah!_

_Nobody rocks it the way that you do_

_You got style_

_Pop your collar_

_'Cause you're all kinds of cool_

_You're legit_

_You're the boss_

_Even when the mic' is off_

_Nobody rocks it_

_Ro-rocks it the way that you do_

_No, oh-oh-oh-oh_

_The way that you do_

_You're off the charts_

_You're number one_

_You got the fire so keep burnin' it uuuuuup!_

_Nobody rocks it the way that you do_

_You got style_

_Pop your collar_

_'Cause you're all kinds of cool_

_You're legit_

_You're the boss_

_Even when the mic' is off_

_Nobody rocks it_

_Ro-rocks it the way that you do_

I press the stop button so it'll stop recording, turn around, and throw up in the trash can.

"Was it that bad?" Austin asks me, taking off his headphones.

"No, I just still don't feel that well," I tell him, wiping my mouth. I take the CD out and put it in the case as Austin walks over to me.

"Alright, so we have an hour before Jimmy Starr comes," Austin says, leaning on the table.

"So what do you wanna do?" I ask. He shrugs.

"So last night, you were saying..." He trails off, wanting me to finish for him.

"I'll tell you later," I say.

"Why not-?"

"Later."

"But-"

"Later."

"Fine," he grumbles. When Jimmy Starr shows up, Austin is as excited as ever.

"Hi, Mr. Starr," he says excitedly. "Ally, can you go get the demo for me please?"

"Sure," I say. I walk up to the recording room... but I don't see the demo. I move my songbook and look under it. Nope. I look under the recording stuff but still don't see it.

"Ally, what's taking so long?" Austin asks a few minutes later.

"I can't find the demo!" I exclaim worriedly, frantically looking for it. Austin and I search the whole table.

"The demo is missing," I say. We walk downstairs. "What's your plan?" I ask. He shrugs. "Be glad I have one," I mutter. I turn to Jimmy Starr and smile at him.

"So we were thinking... Why give you a demo... when Austin could perform it for you live?" I ask. He nods in agreement.

"That's a very good idea," he says.

* * *

"I hope you like it," Austin tells Jimmy Starr. I sit down beside Jimmy.

_Sometimes it feels like you lost your swag_

_You got a 'kick-me' sign coverin' the skills that you have_

_And it all looks wrong_

_When you're lookin' down_

_You get dizzy_

_Doin' 360s_

_And you can't break out_

_Even when you feel like you ain't all that_

_Just don't forget that I got your back_

_Now turn up the beat and bump that track_

_Bump that track_

_Yeah!_

_Nobody rocks it the way that you do_

_You got style_

_Pop your collar_

_'Cause you're all kinds of cool_

_You're legit_

_You're the boss_

_Even when the mic' is off_

_Nobody rocks it_

_Ro-rocks it the way that you do_

_No, oh-oh-oh-oh_

_The way that you do_

_You're off the charts_

_You're number one_

_You got the fire so keep burnin' it uuuuuup!_

_Nobody rocks it the way that you do_

_You got style_

_Pop your collar_

_'Cause you're all kinds of cool_

_You're legit_

_You're the boss_

_Even when the mic' is off_

_Nobody rocks it_

_Ro-rocks it the way that you do_

I smile, waiting for Jimmy Starr's approval.

"That's a very good song. Austin, how would-?" I cut him off by throwing up right in his lap.

"Oh, my God. Mr. Jimmy Starr, I am _so _sorry!" I exclaim. I run to get a towel and come back to clean him off. I really hope this didn't affect his decision... Once he's all cleaned up and in a new pair of pants (provided by Mike), he continues.

"Anyway, as I was saying, Austin, how would you like a contract with Starr Records?" he asks. Austin's eyes widen.

"Are you serious?! Of course I would!" Austin yells.

* * *

"I'm so glad that he signed you," I say as we lie in my bed. I rest my chin on his chest.

"Can you tell me what you were saying last night now?" he asks. I lean up and kiss him.

"I hope that answered your question," I tell him when I pull away. I stand up and grab my songbook from the other side of the room. When I turn around, Austin's standing up, staring at me. I walk up to him. He blinks and swallows. He leans down and kisses me. I kiss back. I hear someone knock on the door. I break away from Austin quickly. He looks at me and shakes his head. He kisses me again and the person knocks on the door again. I break away from him and open the door.

"Hi, Ally. We have a surprise downstairs for you, Austin," Mimi tells us. We walk downstairs. The living room has been decorated and there's a big banner that says "**Congrats On Getting Signed, Austin!**" in curvy handwriting. Probably Mimi's.

"Congrats, Austin!" Dez, Mike, and my dad yell.

"Wow, Mom, this is awesome. Thanks," Austin says giving her a hug.

"That's not all," she says with a big smile on her face. She leads him over to a kind of tall but skinny box. Austin lies it down on the floor and opens it.

"No way!" Austin exclaims. He stares down at what's inside the box. "A new guitar. Als, come look at this," he says breathlessly. I walk over and take a good luck at it. Half of it is red and half is yellow. Austin and I's favorite colors. Under the strings, it's black and it says something.

_Austin & Ally_

The letters alternate between being red and yellow. Instead of the 'and' symbol, though, it has a treble clef.

"It's awesome," I say.

* * *

"This is great cake, Mimi," I tell her. It had said, 'Congrats, Austin' before we ate it. "We have even more good news," I say, flashing a smile at Austin. "We're-"

"-Writing a new song!" Austin exclaims. I give him a weird look. "Ally, can I talk to you? Out in the hallway?" We walk out there.

"What was _that_?" I ask him.

"Ally, we can't tell her," Austin says.

"What? Are you embarrassed of me?" I ask. His eyes widen.

"No, no, no! That isn't it at all! But we can't tell her _yet_," he specifies. "If we do, she'll be planning our wedding and our honeymoon and urging us to have kids. Ally, I can't watch a kid! Not at fifteen!"

"Austin, I highly doubt she'll make us have kids and she won't plan our honeymoon and our wedding. It'll be fine, Austin," I say, putting a hand on his cheek. "I promise." We walk back into the room, holding hands. Mimi's smile gets wider and brighter.

"Oh, finally!" she squeals. "I have been waiting for this day!" She starts to pull me back out of the room. "Ally, I want you to try on my wedding dress. I just want to see if it fits you!" Austin's eyes widen and looks at me as if to say 'I told you!' After trying on Mimi's dress, we sit on her bed.

"Ally, will you wear my dress on your wedding day?" she asks me eagerly.

"Mimi, we're only fifteen. We won't have to worry about our wedding day for a while," I say to her.

"I know but will you? Please?" she asks. "Unless you want to wear your mo-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to-"

"No, no, it's fine, Mimi. But I can't wear her dress. They, um... She was buried... in it," I tell her. A single tear rolls down my cheek. But to brighten the mood, I say, "Of course I'll wear your dress, Mimi."

"Yay!" she exclaims wrapping me in a hug. We walk back to the dining room and I sit down beside Austin.

"So have you thought of a date yet?" Mimi asks. Austin spits his drink out and it spews everywhere.

"Mimi, I told you that it'll be a while before then," I tell her. "Besides, who said we were getting married? Maybe-"

"Ally, don't doubt our love," Austin tells me.

"I'm not. What if we don't want to get married? You might not even have time for a relationship at all. You _did _just get signed, you know. You're going to be doing concerts all over the world. French girls, Italian girls, Spanish girls, Puerto Rican girls, even American girls will be _all over you_. All I can do is sit back and watch. There's nothing I can do. Do you know how many times random fans have jumped on stage and kissed the singer? What if that happens to you? What am I supposed to do? And I can't be with you at all times. You could cheat on me and I wouldn't even know. And I couldn't be your celebrity girlfriend. Do you want to know why? Because I lied to you. I'm not over my stage fright. I couldn't stand up in front of crowds with you." I just got myself angry. "You know what? Why don't you just leave now? Actually, I'll leave. This is your house; not mine. Forget this. I'm going back to Miami."

I stand up and walk up to my room. I hear footsteps a little ways behind me but I don't look back. I have a pretty good idea who it is. It's either Austin or Mimi. When I'm inside my room, I slam the door behind me and lock it. I start throwing things into my bag, not caring about how it's unorganized which makes my skin crawl. Someone knocks on the door.

"I'm sorry!" I yell through the door. I'm not even sure why I'm mad. I just know that it's deep. Like how Austin should feel. For leaving him here alone for so many years. Maybe I'm just mad for him... or at myself because everything I said was true... I grab my laptop and shove it into my bag. I zip it up, pick up my songbook, and walk to the door.

I yank it open and I'm suddenly knocked backwards. My bag and my book fall out of my hands as I grab onto the person in front of me to steady myself. It's most likely Austin since he's kissing me. When I opened the door, he kissed me and started walking forward. He pushes me onto my bed and climbs on top of me, pinning me to the bed. I can't help but kiss back. I grab Austin's shirt and deepen the kiss.

"Ally, please don't leave," Austin says when we break apart for air. "I could kind of handle it the first time but I don't think I can a second time."

"I won't," I promise him. And I mean it this time. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. Wait a minute... Summer's over in about two months...

**Sorry it's late tonight. Sorry for no disclaimer. Sorry for the shortness. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I've been busy. Anyway, the next chapter should be longer. Should. Maybe it will be. Maybe it won't be. Review**

**Love, Kenzie**


	14. Chapter 14

"I'm sorry, everyone. My behavior was out of line and I didn't even mean to go all into detail," I tell them as we walk back into the dining room. Everyone is just staring at me except Dez. He has a goofy smile on his face. As always. He walks over to me and take his book bag off of his back. He rummages through it before taking out a squeak toy.

"What's this?" I ask when he gives it to me. His goofy smile is gone and he has a serious look on his face now.

"It's a stress reliever. Every time you're mad or stressed, squeak it. It'll either make you laugh because of the noise or it'll make you feel good for squeezing it," he tells me. I hug him.

"Thanks, Dez," I say. We all sit back down and finish off the cake. Once again, I try to stay out of the conversation. After we're all done eating, I walk up to the recording room to get my songbook. I go to empty out the trash can and see something. The demo. It must have fallen in. And now it's covered in my puke. Gross. Well, everything worked out fine without it. I clean out the trash can and go back to my room.

* * *

_Dear Diary/Songbook,_

_This past week was... This past week was just _not my week_. I mean, I'm glad Austin got signed two weeks ago and all but... he's gone a bit more than usual. He's had so many things to do just to get_ started_ at Starr Records. Like, he has to get an agent, sign a few more contracts. It just consumes his time. I don't... I don't even think I've left the house at all this past week... In fact, I_ haven't_ left the house. I've gone out to the pool but that's the only time the sun has touched my skin. I just can't bring myself to go to town for some reason. I miss Austin. The Austin who I knew and loved. This Austin is unfamiliar. He isn't glued to my side. He's anywhere but there. I hate to be ranting about this but it just makes me sad. If he knew about this, I would feel even worse. I love him. I really do. With all my heart. I just wish he was around more._

_Love, Ally_

I give my squeak toy a squeak and sigh. I hear someone knock on the door. I quickly hide the toy in my side table drawer.

"Come in," I say softly. The door opens and in walks none other than Austin Moon.

"Austy!" I yell, running and jumping into his arms.

"So I take it you missed me?" he asks smiling.

"Of course I did!" I exclaim. "I haven't seen you all day."

"Well, that's good because I missed you too. And guess what?" he asks.

"What?" I ask.

"I have tomorrow off. I'm yours the whole day," he tells me, his smile getting wider. I kiss him gently on the lips and he sets me down. Our arms are still wrapped around each other though.

"Really? You're not joking?" I ask hopefully. He shakes his head.

"I'm completely serious," he says.

"Yay!" I exclaim. I look down and sigh though. No! I didn't mean to sigh!

"Are you alright?" Austin asks me, worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lie to him, forcing a smile.

"Good, 'cause I don't like seeing my baby sad," he tells me with a smile. He looks at my eyes as I look up. "Are you sure you're alright? You still look sad." He frowns.

"I'm totally fine," I tell him shrugging, refusing to look him in the eye anymore.

"Alright... Hey," he says.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"I love you," he tells me, cupping my cheek in his hand. I lean my face against his hand and smile up at him.

"I love you too," I say.

* * *

The next day, Austin and I walk to town hand-in-hand.

"So what do you want to do?" he asks me.

"It doesn't matter. As long as we're together, I'm alright doing anything," I tell him.

"How about a concert with me?" he suggests.

"No."

"Relax, I'm only joking," he promises. We walk to the mall.

"Hey, guys. Oh, you're finally together, huh?" Cassidy asks us. We smile.

"Yeah, finally," I tell her.

"I'm so happy for you guys," she says. A tall boy with brown hair walks up.

"Dallas? What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Oh, hey Ally. I came to see my girlfriend," Dallas tells me.

"Your girlfriend?" I ask.

"Yep, Cassidy's my girlfriend," he says, putting his arm around her. "Tomorrow's our three-month anniversary." He taps her nose and kisses her cheek.

"Th-three months?" I ask. But when Dallas and I talked, he said he missed seeing me and Trish said he was thinking about asking me out when I got back. It shouldn't bother me, right? And it doesn't. I'm with Austin now.

"So how did you two meet?" I ask.

"I used to live in Miami and we've been friends for a long time," she explains.

"Miami? Cassidy... Cassidy... Cassidy! You used to work at Melody Diner, right?" I ask her.

"Our specials are Cha Cha Chicken Pot Pies. They're really delicious. These are no lies," she sings. "Yeah, I'm a bit rusty... Do you still love the pot pies though?"

"Yeah, I go to Melody Diner and eat them every day after school," I tell her.

"But it's a healthy addiction, right?" she jokes.

"Yep, only one pie a day now," I tell her laughing.

"Well, congrats on getting together and your healthy addiction. We'll see you later," she says. I watch them walk away then turn back to Austin.

"So..." I say.

"So..." he says back. We both laugh. We walk around town all day, laughing at everything even if it isn't funny. When we're about to leave, a group of girls walk up, escorted by Dez.

"Hey guys. These girls wanted to meet you, Austin," he says shaking his head. He leans closer to us. "They wouldn't leave me alone!" he whisper-yells. The girls squeal as Austin flashes a smile their way. I walk over and stand with Dez as Austin signs autographs and hugs them one-by-one. I roll my eyes at the mesmerized girls. Some of them even fainted after Austin hugged them. But their friends would help them up. Then some random girl notices that he's here.

"Hey, it's Austin Moon!" she shrieks. I think I'm going to go deaf. Girls scream as loud as they can. Dez and I are shoved away as the screaming girls surround Austin. Dez offers to walk me home and I gladly accept.

"See? This is what I was talking about last week," I tell him as we walk into my room to wait for Austin.

"Yeah, I get it. I feel the same way sometimes... in a friend way though, you know?" he asks. I nod and sit down on my bed. I pick up my squeak toy and squeak the hell out of it. I squeak it for about an hour before Austin finally shows up. I shove the squeak toy under my blanket when he walks in.

"Thanks for walking her home, Dez," Austin says frowning. I roll over and stare at the wall.

"Als, I'm really sorry about that," Austin says, lying down behind me and wrapping his arms around me. I hear my door close. Dez must have left. "You know I didn't want that to happen, right?"

"Yeah, I know" is all I say. That came out colder than I wanted it to. I roll over and sink down into him. "I know. It isn't your fault. I don't blame you." He tries to make himself comfortable and I hear a squeak. I swear under my breath.

"You actually use this thing?" Austin says, squeaking it.

"It helps," I mutter, snatching it and throwing it on the floor. "Sing to me."

"What?" he asks.

"I wanna go to sleep," I tell him. He murmur/sings me a lullaby. It isn't long before I'm asleep but I'm awoken in the middle of the night. Austin's still in my bed and he's saying my name in his sleep. I smile at this. This really brightens my mood for some reason. I move closer to him and fall back to sleep.

**Yep, so I lied. I haven't had the laptop all day so I didn't have much time to write. I think I'm gonna stop doing the disclaimers for this story. I may start doing them again in my next story. Anyway, review if you love my stories!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	15. Chapter 15

**Austin's POV:**

I wake up cold. Ally's gone. I walk downstairs and hear Ally and Dez splashing around in the pool.

"What's-what's going on?" I ask. They abruptly stop playing around.

"Dez came over to hang out with you; you were asleep; I was awake so here we are," Ally explains to me.

"Oh..." is all I say.

"What's wrong?" she asks me.

"Nothing. Hey, I'm glad you two are coming to be friends because you might be spending a bit more time together," I tell them. "I have to go get ready for another busy day at work." I sigh. I go upstairs, slip on some clean clothes and walk back to the pool. I kneel down to kiss Ally. She casually avoids my kiss and I frown. She smiles sadly and dips down under the water. Dez also gives me a sad smile then I turn to go to work.

**Ally's POV:**

When I know he's gone, I emerge from the water. I feel bad for acting like this but he needs to know how I feel. He'll forget all about the feeling when he approaches his screaming fans though.

"Are you alright?" Dez asks me. I nod silently. We get out of the pool and walk over to the table. I wrap my towel around me and sit down. I stare at the ground. I hear Dez saying something but I can't find my voice. After a few minutes of repeating, I think, the same exact thing, he taps my shoulder. I look up at him.

"Have you not heard a thing I've said?" he asks me. I shake my head truthfully. "You need to stop worrying about this. They'll have to give him a break sometime, right?" he asks. I nod.

"And you can't just be together and not have a first date. Austin doesn't treat his girls like that. Especially not you," he tells me. Hopefully he won't take me on a date. Dates... aren't exactly my thing. "Can I tell you a secret?" he asks. I nod. "He's been in love with you all this time. He just wouldn't admit it. He used to wait by the phone, hoping you'd call."

This reminds me of, at the start of summer, when Mimi told me about how he counted down the days the year after I moved.

"He always asked me if he should call you first. I always said yes but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He thought you hated him or something. He was afraid you wouldn't want to talk to him," Dez says.

"Well now I feel bad. About the pictures in his room. About how he waited for me to call and I never did. About how he counted down the days until the next summer. About_ everything_," I tell him.

"Don't feel bad. You're here now. And you'll see each other next summer probably. You'll most likely talk throughout the year too. Don't worry," he says.

"You know what, Dez? You're a very wise person now that I know you," I say.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I got all of this in a fortune cookie," he tells me. I push my eyebrows together in confusion. There's no way he got this from a fortune cookie. I laugh and shake my head.

After we're dried off, we go get some lunch. We eat at some pancake place. As we walk in, I immediately think of Austin. Pancakes are his favorite food...

"I'll have seventeen pancakes, drenched in syrup," Dez tells the waitress. Seventeen is Austin's lucky/favorite number... He really didn't need to pick that exact number...

"Um, just five and I'll put the syrup on it," I say to her.

"So what kind of syrup do you want?" Dez asks me, taking his book bag off of his back as the waitress walks away. He reaches into it. "I have-"

"I think I'll just stick to the syrup that they already have here," I tell him with a smile.

"Suit yourself," he says. When the waitress comes back with our pancakes, Dez takes a syrup bottle out of his bag and pours extra syrup on his pancakes. I roll my eyes. When we finish our pancakes (which took a very long time; Dez kept ordering more), we walk back to Austin's house in silence.

"So I'll see you tomorrow maybe," I tell Dez when we stop at the front door. He nods and runs away as if something was chasing him. Only Dez. I walk inside and up to the dance room. I pick up the red and yellow guitar, which Austin has deemed his lucky guitar, and start playing Not A Love Song.

_Let's not talk about it_

_Drama: we can live without it_

I play the song over and over again. I try to convince myself that it _isn't_ a love song even though I know it is. By the eleventh time I've played the song, my fingers are tired. I set down the guitar carefully, trying not to drop it. I sit down right there on the floor. I go from sitting to laying. I stare at the ceiling.

I try to turn this into cloud watching. I try to make pictures in the small dots... It takes me a minute to realize that they _aren't_ clouds and you can't make pictures out of ceiling dots.

Austin is so late that he misses dinner. Or maybe dinner is early. It does kind of feel like it is... As always, I don't say a word. I keep expecting a nudge from him before I realize that he isn't here. There's an emptiness beside me and I don't like it.

The doorbell rings and I tell everyone that I'll get it. I walk to the door and look through the hole. I see Austin. There are some fans, that must have followed him home, basically attacking him. He's pushed up against the door as fans try to get pieces of his shirt and whatever else he has. He beats on the door and repeatedly pushes the doorbell.

"Ally, who's at the door?" Mimi asks, walking up behind me. I haven't opened the door yet. Oops.

"It's Austin," I tell her, moving out of the way. She opens the door for him and he falls inside. Fans jump on top of him. If I could, I would help him but I'm not strong enough to pull _one_ of the girls off of him. So I just stay out of the way. He screams in terror. Mimi shoves the girls off of him and closes the door when she pushes them out. Austin brushes himself off and sighs in relief.

"So how was work?" Mimi asks him, leading him toward the dining room.

"It was alright." He shrugs. He notices I haven't moved. He walks back over to me.

"Are you alright, Als?" he asks me, putting his arm around my shoulders. Mimi leaves to give us some privacy.

"I'm fine," I say, though my voice cracks.

"Come on, just tell me," he says. He leans down and looks me in the eye. I shake my head and shrug.

"I... I don't know..." I say, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Is it the girls?" he asks. The way he said 'the girls' just irks me.

"No," I say quietly, looking down. He can tell when I'm lying way too easily if he looks into my eyes. He lifts my chin up with his fingers and I avoid his eyes. He moves his head into my line of vision. Once our eyes meet, it's like their literally locked in place because I can't seem to look away.

"You're lying," he tells me. I swear under my breath. "Ally, let me tell you something. You are the only girl I will ever love. Those other girls? They're pretty, yeah." I roll my eyes and scoff. "But they've got nothing on you." I can't help the smile that creeps onto my face and the blush that does the same. He kisses me gently. I touch my lips and know how stupid I must look but I don't care.

"You know what? I'm taking you on a date," he tells me.

"A, um, a date?" I ask. He nods his head. "Um... I don't know..."

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"Dates... dates aren't really my thing..." I say quietly.

"It'll be fine, Als," he promises me.

Oh, this date isn't going to go well. I've never been on a date before because I'm kind of bad luck and I didn't want to share my bad luck with anyone else. So I don't go on dates. It's as simple as that. Screaming fans are bound to attack Austin.

* * *

"Hey Austin?" I ask, walking into his room as he gets ready for our "date". I told Austin not to make a big deal of it. So we're just going to hang out around town. Mimi was practically jumping out of her seat when we told her we were leaving for a date.

"Yeah?" he asks. I walk into his closet. I grab a gray hoodie and slip it over his head. I pull the hood up and pull the strings as tight as they will go.

"Is this really necessary?" he asks, his voice muffled.

"Yes, yes it is," I tell him. He loosens the strings and pulls it off of his head.

"You _want _to get killed by fans, don't you?" I ask.

"Maybe just a little," he jokes as we leave his room and walk to the front door. As he closes the front door behind us, he turns to me. "Nah, if I got killed, I wouldn't be able to see you every day... unless I came back and haunted you." He makes ghostly noises and I laugh. We walk through town, swinging our arms between us. I feel my phone vibrate. I ignore it. After the fourth time it vibrates, it's annoying and I take it out to turn it off. Before I turn it off, I see the caller's name.

Trish.

"Sorry, I have to take this, Austin," I say pressing the answer button. "Hello?"

"Ally, it's been confirmed! Dallas is going to ask you out when you get back!" she yells into my ear. Haven't I told her about Austin and I?

"What? No. How do you know that?

" I ask her.

"I was texting him on my friend's phone yesterday," she tells me. "He told me that he was going to walk up to you and ask you out as soon as you get back." I look up and see him walking with Cassidy.

"Trish, do you have any proof of this conversation?" I ask, eyeing Dallas.

"Yeah. Hey, Emily, can I see your phone for a second? ... Thanks... Okay... Dallas... Screenshot... Send to... Trish... Here, Em. Okay, Emily... Send to... Ally... And... sent. You should get it in a second," Trish says. We hang up and I wait for the text to come in. After literally a second, my phone vibrates.

"Come on, Austin," I say, tugging on his hand. I open the picture as I walk over to Cassidy and Dallas.

"Hey, Ally," Cassidy says, smiling. "Hey, Austin."

"I talked to Trish, Dallas," I tell him, feeling sly.

"Uh... You talked to-um-Trish?" he asks. I nod and turn to Cassidy.

"Dallas-"

"-Loves you," Dallas cuts in.

"Aw!" Cassidy says, her smile getting brighter.

"No, he was trying to cheat on you," I blurt out.

"What?" she asks. That wiped the smile right off of her face.

"With me," I finish. Cassidy looks up at Dallas and slaps him right across the face. Austin and I both wince as the sound whips through our ears.

"You have no proof," Dallas scoffs, rubbing his now-red cheek.

"Oh, don't I?" I ask. I hold my phone out to Cassidy.

"'I'm totally gonna ask Ally out when she gets back'?! After three months, you suddenly decide to cheat on me! That's it! We're done!" Cassidy screams at Dallas. She slaps him once more and storms off.

"Thanks a lot, Ally," Dallas mutters. I look down as he leaves. Austin must know I feel bad about that because he puts his hand on my shoulder.

"It's alright, Ally. You did the right thing," he tells me. I sigh. He lifts my chin up and kisses my cheek.

"I don't know. It felt right at the time..." I trail off.

"Because you still like him?" Austin asks. I shake my head.

"No, that's not it... Okay, maybe it _was_ but-"

"Then why don't you just date him?" The question sounds cold but his tone doesn't have a trace of anger in it.

"Because I have _you_," I tell him. He keeps his poker face intact. I wrap my arms around his neck as he wraps his own around my waist. "Look, I used to like Dallas. Emphasis on 'used to'. As in, it's in the past; over with; done. And now I like you. No, now I _love _you. Maybe I've loved you all along. I'm not sure. But you're the boy I love now and you're the boy I'll always love," I promise him. He smiles slightly. I pull away from him. "Don't you believe me?" I ask. He shrugs.

"I don't know." He turns his head and looks to the side. "I might need a kiss for proof," he tells me, tapping his cheek.

"That's blackmail!" I joke.

"I'm waiting," he says in a sing-song voice, tapping his cheek with the syllables. I roll my eyes. I turn his head and kiss his lips instead. I swear his lips are so soft. I could kiss them all day if he'd let me. We're both reluctant to pull away when we finally do. We eat at a restaurant even though I specifically told Austin that we should just hang out. Surprisingly, nobody noticed it's him while we were there. Spoke too soon. As we're walking home, about _fifteen girls _run up to him, screaming their heads off. They're all asking him to date him or something. I start to walk away but Austin grabs my wrist and pulls me to him.

"Sorry, ladies, I'm taken," he says to them.

"Aww," they all say sadly, walking away. Austin's arm is still around my shoulder as we walk home. We walk up to my room. I go into my closet and change into my pajamas before walking back out and lying down with Austin in my bed.

"I feel like I'm prohibiting you from having a love life," I sigh to him, breaking the silence.

"What? I have a love life," he tells me.

"Yeah, in private," I mutter.

"A private, real love life is better than a fake, public love life any day," he says, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. We're silent for a few more minutes. Suddenly, he starts singing me a lullaby. I'm asleep within minutes.

**Sorry that I haven't updated! I should have one or two more chapters up today! Do you want to know something funny? I put Cassidy in my story as having red hair. Like, strawberry blonde or something. But she has, like, dirty blonde hair. I guess I just always imagine her with strawberry blonde hair... Do you want to know something else that is funny? I've already written the first chapter of the sequel to this story but I haven't written any more chapters for this story xD Anyway, Review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	16. Chapter 16

I wake up as Austin stands from my bed.

"Where are you going?" I ask sleepily, rubbing my eyes.

"I have to get to work," he says. I look out the window. Through the curtains, I see that the sun is just peeking over the horizon.

"At six in the morning?" I ask.

"Jimmy said it was going to be a hard day," he tells me.

"I'm coming with you," I say firmly, sitting up.

"Ally, you need to go back to sleep," he says.

"No, I'm coming with you," I tell him. I stand up and walk to my closet. As soon as I'm dressed, my songbook in my hand and my phone in my pocket, I walk downstairs to where Austin is waiting for me. We get into the car.

"Since when do you have your license?" I ask with a yawn.

"You know how if you have your permit and you play a sport or something, you can get permission to drive at night?" he asks me. I nod. "This is kind of like that except I have permission to drive at all times. And without someone over eighteen or twenty one or whatever the age is." I fall back to sleep as he drives.

"Ally, we're here," Austin says, shaking me awake. I open my eyes slowly. The sun has risen a bit more. We walk inside the building and Austin leads me down a hallway into a recording room at the very end.

"Austin! You made it!" Jimmy Starr says as we walk into the room. "Ally! You're here too... Are you still sick?" I shake my head.

"No, sir," I say with a laugh. He smiles.

"Good," he says then he turns to Austin. "We need to rerecord your songs. We saved them to the computer but none of them are there anymore."

"Okay, no problem," Austin says, walking into the recording booth. He puts the headphones on his head and waits for the music to start. I wonder why the songs weren't saved. Maybe they just didn't save them and they thought they did?

_Flip a switch_

_Turn on the lightnin'_

_Get it right_

_Show 'em how it's done_

That's twice that something like that has happened.

_Free it up_

_No matter how you dress that song_

_Girl, you know_

_You got a number one_

_Go with it_

_You got 'em where you want 'em_

_Drop the beat_

_They need to hear your sound_

_Play it up_

_It's comin' down to you right now_

_They wanna know_

_Know_

_Know_

_Your name_

_Name_

_Name_

_They want the girl_

_Girl_

_Girl_

_With game_

_Game_

_Game_

_And when they look_

_Look_

_Look_

_Your way_

_Way_

_Way_

_You gotta make_

_Make_

_Make 'em do a double take_

_Make 'em do a double take_

_This could be_

_An overnight sensation_

_You and me_

_Tearin' up the floor_

_Let it go_

_This party's up to you right now_

_They wanna know_

_Know_

_Know_

_Your name_

_Name_

_Name_

_They want the girl_

_Girl_

_Girl_

_With game_

_Game_

_Game_

Suddenly, Austin's eyes widen and his mouth twists into a wince of pain. He lets out a short scream and throws the headphones to the ground. He walks out of the recording booth.

"What's wrong?" Jimmy asks him.

"That was the loudest and worst feedback I've ever heard!" Austin yells, rubbing his ear. "My ears are still ringing!"

"There's no need to yell. We can hear you," Jimmy says.

"What?!" Austin asks loudly. "I can't hear you!" It takes about five minutes before Austin's hearing returns to normal.

"Are you alright?" I ask him. He nods. "D-do you think you can finish?" He takes a deep breath.

"Yeah, but if it does it again, can we move to a different recording room? Something might be wrong with the equipment in this one," Austin says. Jimmy nods and Austin walks back into the recording booth.

"Okay, just start over," Jimmy says. Austin nods his head in understanding and cautiously puts the headphones back on his head.

_Flip a switch_

_Turn on the lightnin'_

_Get it right_

_Show 'em how it's done_

_Free it up_

"Okay, what song's next?" Austin asks into the microphone so we can hear when he finishes the song. Jimmy looks down at a piece of paper.

"What Makes You Beautiful," Jimmy answers into his own microphone. The music starts playing and Austin starts singing.

_You're insecure_

_Don't know what for_

_You're turnin' heads when you walk through the door_

_Don't need makeup_

_To cover up_

_Bein' the way that you are is enough_

_Everyone else in the room can see it_

_Everyone else but you_

___Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

___The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

___But when you smile at the ground_

___It ain't hard to tell_

_You don't know_

___Oh, oh_

___You don't know you're beautiful_

___If only you saw what I can see_

_You'd understand why I want you so desperately_

_Right now I'm looking at __you and I can't believe_

_You don't know_

_Oh, oh_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

___Oh, oh_

___That's what makes you beautiful_

_____So c-come on_

_____You got it wrong_

___To prove I'm right_

___I put it in a song_

___I don't know why_

___You're being shy_

___And turn away_

___When I look into your eyes  
_

_Everyone else in the room can see it_

_Everyone else but you_

_Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

_The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

_But when you smile at the ground_

_It ain't hard to tell_

_You don't know_

_Oh, oh_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_If only you saw what I can see_

_You'd understand why I want you so desperately_

_Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe_

_You don't know_

_Oh, oh_

_You don't know you're beautiful_

_Oh, oh_

_That's what makes you beautiful_

___Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na_

___Na, na, na, na, na, na_

_Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na_

_Na, na, na, na, na, na_

___Baby, you light up my world like nobody else_

___The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

___But when you smile at the ground_

___It ain't hard to tell_

___You don't know_

___Oh, oh_

___You don't know you're beautiful_

___Baby you light up my world like nobody else_

___The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

___But when you smile at the ground_

___It ain't hard to tell_

___You don't know_

___Oh, oh_

___You don't know you're beautiful_

___If only you saw what I can see_

___You'd understand why I want you so desperately_

___Right now I'm looking at you_

___And I can't believe_

___You don't know_

___Oh, oh_

___You don't know you're beautiful_

___Oh, oh_

___You don't know you're beautiful_

"That was awesome!" Jimmy exclaims. Good thing nothing happened. That was kind of a long song. "Not A Love Song," he says.

_You're always on my mind_

_I think about you all the time_

_Um... no._

_Let's not talk about it_

_Drama: we can live without it_

_Catch a wave if we're bored_

_There's a clock we'll ignore_

_Find a way_

_Around it_

_Hey, girl_

_I can tell there's somethin'_

_Even when you say it's nothin'_

_When you're playin' with your hair_

_Like you just don't care_

_It's a tell_

_You're bluffin'_

_Now please don't take this the wrong way_

_I love the things you do_

_It's how you do the things you love_

_But it's not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_I love the way you get me_

_But correct me if I'm wrong_

_This is not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_I love that you buy the tickets_

_And you don't make me watch the chick flicks_

_We've come so far_

_Bein' just the way we are_

_If it's not broke_

_Don't fix it_

_I can't guess the meanin'_

_When you don't say what you're feelin'_

_If you've got a broken heart_

_You can punch me in the arm_

_Now that's what_

_You're needin'_

_That's just what you're needin'_

_Please don't take this the wrong_

_Nope_

_I love the things you do_

_It's how you do the things you love_

_But it's not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_I love the way you get me_

_But correct me if I'm wrong_

_This is not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_I don't speak girl_

_Like, "Hey girl!"_

_I don't quite understand the manicure_

_But you're_

_The only friend I'd take a shower for_

_And I would really do that for you_

_And I_

_Would hold your bags when you go shop__pin'_

_What a guy_

The music stops playing abruptly.

"Just keep going. We'll fix it later in editing," Jimmy says into the microphone quickly.

_What a guy_

_I love the things you do_

_It's how you do the things you love_

_The way you sing it_

_Put me through it_

_I guess I always knew it_

_I love the way you get me_

_But correct me_

_If I'm wrong_

_This is not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_I love the things you do_

_It's how you do the things you love_

_But it's not a love song_

_Definitely not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_I love the way you get me_

_But correct me,_

_If I'm wrong_

_This is not a love song_

_No, it's not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_This is not a love song_

_It's not a love song_

_Not a love song_

_This is not a love song_

_It's not a love song_

_Not a love song_

I laugh because it obviously is a love song.

"What are we gonna do without the music?" Austin asks.

"Editing," Jimmy says simply.

"So you want me to do this without any music at all?" Austin asks. Jimmy nods and looks down at the paper.

"Okay, next is... The Way That You Do," Jimmy says.

_Sometimes it feels like you lost your swag_

_You got a 'kick-me' sign_

_Coverin' the skills that you have_

_And it all looks wrong_

_When you're lookin' down_

_You get dizzy_

_Doin' 360s_

_And you can't break out_

_Even when you feel like you ain't all that_

_Just don't forget that I got your back_

_Just turn up the beat and bump that track_

_Bump that track_

_Yeah!_

I stop listening because my phone starts vibrating.

"Hello?" I ask, walking to the door of the room and leaning against it.

"Tell me you're with Austin," my dad commands.

"I am," I tell him. He lets out a sigh of relief.

"I was hoping. I've been looking everywhere for you," he says, worriedly.

"Yeah, I just wanted to see what Austin does when he goes to work so I made him take me with him," I explain. I look over at Austin because the music stopped. The song must be over.

"Oh, that's cool. That's-" I drop my phone, not caring what my dad has to say. Austin is in the recording booth trying to get out. Jimmy is on the outside, trying to get the door to open. I don't know why Austin wants to get out so bad but it's scaring me.

I run over and try to help Jimmy but the door won't budge. It's like it's locked or something but I don't think this door locks. Jimmy tells me to step back. He takes a few steps back also and throws himself at the door. He does this a few times until the glass breaks and Austin crawls through. Then I see it.

A fire.

It rages and gets bigger and bigger. Jimmy gets the fire extinguisher and puts out the fire. I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Minor setback," Jimmy mutters. Austin picks up my phone.

"Hey, Mr. Dawson. Ally just dropped her phone. Everything's fine. We'll call you later. Bye," he says quickly to my dad before closing my phone. "Your dad would kill me if he knew there was a fire." Jimmy leads us to a different recording room. Austin's hesitant to go into the booth but he finally does. It's about twenty or thirty minutes before he goes through the whole song without any problems. Everything was falling or the equipment wouldn't work at all.

"The way that you do," Austin finishes the song.

"Alright, good job, Austin! Last song," Jimmy says. Austin glances at me nervously. The song starts playing and I see Austin swallow.

_She said_

_"You're the perfect boy_

_But not the perfect boy for me"_

I bury my face in my hands, remembering when I said this.

_And I disagree_

_I think we go together perfectly_

_We could be for real_

_I could cop a feel_

_We could be for real_

_I say you come a little closer and I tell you what's the deal_

_And maybe you know something I don't know_

_The only thing I know for sure_

_Is you're_

_The one for me and basically I'm lost without you guiding me_

_Please don't say goodbye to me_

_Girl, you know you shake my confidence lately_

_Talk with my lips but I ain't sayin'_

_I'm fallin'_

_In love_

_And I don't know what I'm gonna do_

_But all I know right now_

_Is that I wanna be with you_

Suddenly, he stops singing. I look up at him. He looks as if he's still singing but we've lost all sound. I gesture for him to stop. He gives me a confused look but stops singing. Jimmy is working hard to get the sound working again. I see something long drop down from the ceiling to the floor. Austin looks as if he's screaming but we don't hear it. He bursts out of the room. A snake slithers out slowly. I scream at the top of my lungs.

"Maybe you two should go home. I don't want the building to collapse and kill us all in a freak accident," Jimmy says as he picks up the snake, holding its mouth closed and walking out of the room. Austin leads me to the car. It didn't seem like we were in there _that _long but the sun is high in the sky now. It looks like it's about noon or close to it.

"I never want to go to work with you again," I say as he drives us home. "Ever."

"Ah, don't be like that," he tells me, giving my hand a quick squeeze. He pulls into the driveway and we just sit there for a second.

"I can't help but feel like that was my fault," I say quietly.

"What? That wasn't your fault. It-"

"How do you explain the snake just falling out of the ceiling?" I ask.

"How would that be your fault?" he retorts.

"I'm bad luck," I tell him.

"You're really blaming bad luck for this?" he asks.

"No, I'm blaming myself," I correct him. He caresses my hand with his other one.

"Ally, that wasn't your fault," he tells me.

"But it could have been! What if one of your fans hated me and-?" I stop myself. If they hated me, they'd be going after me, wouldn't they? Or maybe they'd know that I think it was my fault, and think I would... _break up _with Austin to protect him. Maybe I-

"Wouldn't they be going after you then?" he asks, interrupting my thoughts.

"I took that into consideration," I murmur.

"What do you mean?"

"What if... they knew that I'd think it was my fault... and maybe they're trying to get me to break up with you... so I could protect you?" I ask. He blinks.

"You aren't actually th-thinking about that, are you?" Austin asks me sadly.

"Well..." I trail off.

"Ally, no, please don't do this," he begs.

"I don't know. Maybe it's for the best," I say, though my voice cracks on the word 'best'. "It's not good publicity for you to be even hanging around with a girl like me."

"What kind of girl do you think you are?" Austin asks through clenched teeth, letting go of my hand.

I summarize it into one word, "A dork."

"A dork, huh? A fucking dork?!" he asks. "_That's _what you think you are? Of all things, _a dork_?!"

"You said it yourself! You used to call me a dork all the time!" I yell.

"I never called you a dork! I called you adorkable!" he tells me.

"It's the same thing. It's just a nicer way of saying it," I say. He shakes his head.

"We are _not _breaking up. Unless you truly _don't _love me and just want to stay _friends_," he says. "Is that true? Is that what you want?" I don't say anything. None of this would have happened if I didn't come to work with him today. I mentally kick myself. "Answer me," he whispers. A single tear rolls down Austin's cheek. I choke back my own tears. "Answer me," he repeats. I shake my head.

"I do love you and I want to be more than friends; I just don't think it's a good time. I think we rushed into it anyway," I say.

"Do you-? Are you really-? Do you really mean what you're saying to me?" he asks me. My eyes become waterfalls as tears race the others down my face.

"Ally, I don't-" Someone knocks on the car window. I look over and my eyes widen as I see who it is.

"Hi there, '_Ally-Gator_'!"

**There may or may not be another chapter up later today. Until then, keep your guesses coming on who the person is! Review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	17. Chapter 17

"_Tilly_? Tilly Thompson?" I ask. I just don't want to believe my eyes. I climb out of the car and go over to her.

"You know her?" Austin asks me.

"We went to kindergarten together," I tell him. And I haven't _seen _her since kindergarten.

"Aw, did you spill something on your face?" she asks me. Austin gets out of the car too.

"What?" I ask.

"Are you crying?" she asks, rolling her eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I wipe my own eyes.

"No," I lie to her.

"You don't realize that I know when you're lying," she says, smirking.

"What are you even doing here?" I ask her.

"I just wanted to know if you two had broken up yet," she says casually. I intertwine my fingers with Austin's.

"No," I tell her firmly. "We haven't."

"Oh, really?" she asks. "Because I know who this beautiful anonymous person is. And why I'm doing this too."

"You realize that you just admitted that _you _are the anonymous person, right?" I ask. She sighs angrily.

"I hate it when I admit things! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!" she screams.

"Okay, why are you doing this then?" I ask her.

"Because-"

"Hey guys. Why aren't you at work, Austin?" Dez asks, walking up.

"Well, let's just have a freaking party!" I yell, throwing my hands up and walking inside. Everyone follows me, including Tilly.

"Jimmy sent me home. A bunch of different stuff that this chick caused happened and he didn't want her to burn the building down or something," Austin explains to Dez as they all follow me to the dancing room. I sit down on the floor and shove my nose in my book.

"Ally, you have to talk," Austin says, taking my book from me. I stand up and get straight to the point.

"Alright, Tilly, why are you doing this to Austin?" I ask.

"Because it will _ruin _you!" she tells me.

"Wouldn't it be easier to 'ruin' Ally directly instead of through Austin?" Dez asks.

"Dez!" Austin and I say simultaneously.

"Sorry! But all I'm saying is get rid of the middle man. Or middle boy," Dez says, laughing at his own joke. His laughter slowly dies out. "No? Okay..."

"That's _exactly _what I'll do," Tilly exclaims. "Thanks, Ditzy."

"Actually, it's _Dez_," Dez corrects her.

"I meant what I said," she tells him.

"Oh, heck no! Nobody disses my best friend but me!" Austin exclaims. He takes a step toward Tilly then takes a step back. "I can't hit a girl. Ally, hit her for me," Austin says.

"What?! No! Violence doesn't solve anything," I tell them. "Tilly, why do you hate me so much?"

"The Butterfly Song," she says through clenched teeth.

"The Butterfly Song? What about it?" I ask.

"They picked that song over my amazing one!" she exclaims.

"Tilly, ladybugs don't eat pizza _or _ride bicycles!" I tell her.

"What?" Austin asks.

"Nothing. They didn't pick your song because it wasn't scientifically correct," I say to Tilly.

"I don't know what that means but I'll take it as an insult," she spits. I roll my eyes. A devious smile crosses Tilly's face.

"I think I'll start now," she says. She walks up to Austin, almost touching him. He takes a step back. She walks forward until he's pinned against the wall.

"S-start what?" I ask nervously. She leans up and kisses him quickly. My eyes widen. "Forget it. Violence solves everything!" I scream. I start to run at her but someone catches me. I'm almost out of their arms when they lift me up into the air.

"Oh, lemme at her!" I yell. I kick in the air. "TILLY, I WILL KILL YOU!" I shriek. She sarcastically blows me a kiss and walks out of the room. I kick whoever is holding me and they drop me to the floor. I scramble to my feet and try to run out of the room. Dez lifts me up and puts me over his shoulder.

"Dez, put me down!" I yell, hitting his back.

"Ally, Ally, calm down," Austin tells me, walking in front of me.

"How am I supposed to be calm?! She kissed my boyfriend!" I shout.

"Ally, it's fine, I promise," he says. I stop kicking.

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that you _liked _her kissing you?" I ask, my eyes wide. He rolls his eyes.

"No, I'm just saying that it'll never happen again," he tells me. I sigh and Dez puts me down.

"But _if it does_-" I start but Austin cuts me off.

"It won't," he promises me. I brush my skirt off.

"It better not. Or _shit will go down_," I mutter.

"Don't swear, Als. It isn't attractive," he tells me. I huff.

"Whatever." Now I have another thing to worry about. Add that to long list of stress.

* * *

I chew my hair as I try to think of song lyrics. Austin's sitting beside me. We've been sitting on his bed like this for a while.

"Ally, you've been chewing your hair for two hours," he tells me nervously. Okay, we've been sitting on his bed for two hours in fact.

"Sorry," I say, my mouth still full of hair as I stare down at the blank, white pages. Austin tugs my hair out of my mouth and throws my book on the floor. I wince as it hits the floor. I start to climb over him to get it but his arms snake around my waist and pull me back.

"Leave it," he orders.

"But-"

"Leave it."

"But Austin-"

"Leave it."

"But I just-"

"Leave. It."

I sigh.

"Fine," I mutter. I glance over at it once more before returning to my spot beside Austin.

"Thank you. Now let's just relax and..." he trails off.

"What? What is it?" I ask worriedly. He shakes his head.

"Nothing, Als, stop worrying," he tells me. We lie back and try to relax. There's this sound in my ear. Like, white noise or something.

"It's too quiet!" I exclaim, sitting up.

"Yeah, it's part of relaxing. Which is what you need to do," he says. I sigh and lie back into his arms.

"You're right, you're right," I tell him. We lay there for a few seconds before... "Wait a minute! Are we taking a nap?! I can't nap at a time like this!" I jump up out of his bed.

"Ally..." he sighs.

"I'm sorry, Austin but I just can't relax!" I exclaim. He stands up and lifts me into his arms, bridal-style.

"Where are we going?" I ask. He doesn't answer. I see no point in struggling so I just let him carry me. He carries me towards the dancing room.

"Why are we going in there?" I ask, getting tired for some reason. I lay my head on his shoulder. Right before we get to the dancing room, he turns and goes down the stairs. I fit my head into the crook of his neck and close my eyes.

"Where are we going?" I murmur. Again, he doesn't answer.

"What's going on?" I hear Mimi ask.

"I'm walking her to sleep," Austin whispers to her. I can feel it as he walks through the house. I feel every twist and turn. I feel everything he does and everywhere he goes.

"Why are you walking me to sleep?" I ask into his neck.

"Shh," he says. I yawn and let myself relax. Surprisingly, I actually do relax. I don't even think about... Tilly.

"Tilly!" I exclaim, bringing my head up.

"Ally, she can't get to you in here," he tells me, still walking.

"Austin, she put the demo in the trash can. She's already been inside this house without us knowing!" I exclaim. Suddenly, Austin puts me down.

"_She _put the demo in the trash can?" he asks. I nod. "Then she could get you at any time. She could get you in the middle of the night while you're sleeping!"

"Thank you, Austin, for calming me down," I mutter.

"I'm sorry," he tells me.

"I'm scared," I whisper. "We don't know what Tilly is capable of. If she can get past security guards with snakes and set fires and-and-and... and..."

"Ally, it's alright. I'll be by your side at all times. I'll protect you," he promises me.

* * *

As we lie in my bed that night, I think about Tilly. Austin told me I shouldn't but it's hard not to. I hear a tap on the window and jump.

"Ally, it's just a tree," Austin reassures me. I sigh.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit on edge," I tell him, snuggling closer to him.

"It's alright, I'm here," he tells me, wrapping his arms around me. He sings me a lullaby and I fall asleep, trying not to think about what the next day will bring.

**Sorry it's short but there will be another chapter today! Review all of you beautiful people!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	18. Chapter 18

I wake up and Austin's still here. I shake him awake.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" I ask when he finally opens his eyes.

"Jimmy told me to take a few days off to make sure the bad stuff is over," he mumbles, closing his eyes again. I sit up. "What is it now?"

"I don't know. I just feel like I should be awake," I tell him, standing up. I walk to my closet and turn around. "Out," I say pointing to the door. He's already asleep again. I run over and jump on him. He wakes up and sits up quickly.

"What?" he asks, resting his hands on my thighs and lying back down.

"Get out. I need to get dressed," I tell him, smiling. I get off of him and stand up.

"But I don't wanna," he complains like a little kid, putting my pillow over his head. "I won't look, Als, I promise." I sigh.

"Fine, but if you look, I get to slap you," I joke.

"It'd be worth it," he says with a laugh. I roll my eyes and walk over to my closet. Austin rolls over and I take my pajamas off. I open the door and scream.

"What?" Austin asks, rolling back over.

"Don't look!" I exclaim.

"Sorry!" He puts the pillow back over his head. I quickly put my pajamas back on and look back in my closet.

"Tilly, _what _are you doing in my closet?!" I ask.

"Tilly?!" Austin asks, standing up. She comes out and smiles at me.

"I'm just getting started," she says. She walks out of my room. I blink.

"Did that really happen?" I ask Austin. He nods. I glance in my closet once more and turn back to Austin. I push him out of my room.

"I'll be out in a minute. Watch for Tilly," I tell him. I close the door and sigh. I quickly change into a short sleeve shirt and a skirt and I run a brush through my hair.

"That was fast," Austin says when I walk outside my room.

"I don't want to be alone for too long," I tell him. He rests his arm on my shoulders and we walk downstairs.

"Good afternoon sleepy-heads," my dad says, looking up from his newspaper.

"Afternoon?" I ask.

"It's two o'clock," he tells us.

"Really?" Austin asks. My dad nods.

"Austin, can I talk to you?" he asks. Austin nods and sits down.

"You can stay if you want," my dad tells me. I sit down beside Austin and we hold hands. My dad smiles at our intertwined fingers before he puts on a poker face.

"I don't like you," my dad says to Austin.

"Wh-what?" Austin asks, frightened. "We've known each other forever. You used to love me."

"Well, you're with my daughter now so I don't like you anymore," my dad tells him.

"But Lester-"

"Mr. Dawson," my dad corrects him.

"But Mr. Dawson, we love each other," Austin says. "And I would never do anything to hurt her."

"Well-" my dad starts. I can't help but laugh. They both stare at me.

"I'm sorry but this is hilarious," I tell them. My dad stares at me for another second before joining in on my laughter. Austin continues to stare like we're crazy. "Austin, he's just messing with you," I explain. He laughs slightly. The doorbell rings. My dad leaves to go answer it.

"Sorry about that," I tell him. Austin shrugs.

"Hey, _Ally-Gator_," I hear someone say.

"Oh, no," I groan.

"Ally, your friend is here," my dad tells me. He leaves the room so I can hang out with my "friend". I stand up and Austin does the same.

"Tilly, how did you even know that I was in River Dale in the first place?" I ask her.

"I do my research," she says. "And Trish really needs to stop video chatting with you in the food court."

"Stalker," I mutter.

"What was that?" she asks. I shake my head.

"Nothing. What do you want now?" I ask her.

"Oh, nothing," she says.

"Then why are you here?" I ask.

"No reason," she tells us, shrugging. "I just wanted to tell you that you should watch your back today. I could strike at... any.. time..." She starts to leave but then she turns around. "Oh, and your boyfriend is a great kisser." She winks at him then turns to leave. I take a step toward her but Austin holds me back.

"Come on, just let me knock out one of her teeth," I beg as she leaves the room.

"No, Ally," Austin says. Once the front door closes, Austin lets me go. "So why does she hate you so much again?"

"Because they picked The Butterfly Song for the pageant over The Ladybug Song," I tell him, sitting down at the table again. "Our teacher asked us to write songs to be used in the spring pageant. I wrote The Butterfly Song and Tilly wrote The Ladybug Song. They picked my song instead of hers and she's hated me ever since."

"Can I hear it?" he asks, playfully nudging me.

"No," I say, playfully nudging him back.

"Pleeease?" he asks. I roll my eyes and lead him to his room. I start playing his keyboard.

_I'm a little butterfly_

_Spread my colorful wings_

_Even though I'm small and frail_

_I can do most anything_

_Caterpillar in my cocoon_

_I'm gonna be a butterfly soon_

_I'm a little butterfly_

_I can soar through the sky_

_So glad I ended up like this_

_Thanks to metamorphosis_

_I'm a butterfly_

_I'm a butterfly_

_Yeah_

_I'm a butterfly_

"And you wrote this when you were how old?" Austin asks me.

"Five," I tell him. "This song made me realize that I wanted to be a songwriter."

"Didn't we know each other in kindergarten? Why haven't I ever heard this song?" he asks.

"Our dads knew each other while we were in kindergarten. They didn't really introduce us to each other until first grade," I tell him. "Even though I was there when you were born." I let out a laugh.

"You were there when I was born?" he asks.

"Yep," I say. "I was exactly one month old that day."

"I always forget that you're older than me," he mutters. "Old lady."

"Hey!" I exclaim.

"I'm kidding," he says, kissing my cheek. "Hey, I'm datin' an older woman." He smirks to himself. I roll my eyes. I hear another tap on the window and see a figure drop down from the tree beside Austin's window.

"Austin, she was there," I whisper. "That _was _her last night."

"Ally, it's fine. Don't get so paranoid," he says.

"I'm not paranoid," I argue.

"All you need is some fresh air," he tells me. We walk out into the backyard. I hear a rustle in the trees and I jump.

"Ally, it's just some of Dez's friends," Austin jokes. "Don't worry." I look up and see two squirrels up in the trees. I let out a small laugh. We sit out here for about two hours, trying to keep up a light conversation, before the squirrels get inside my head. I spend the rest of the day jumping every time I hear a noise.

"Ally, this is exactly what Tilly is doing. This is what she wants to happen," Austin had told me earlier today. "She wants you to become paranoid about everything as you wait for her to do something, which is what you're doing, and that's how she's going to ruin you."

As I lie in bed that night with Austin snoring lightly at my side, I realize something. Something that I don't want to realize. Something that I _never _want to think about.

Summer is over in a month.

**Sorry it's late. I was crying my eyes out over the season finale of Austin & Ally. Hehe, that rhymes. Oh, and I have a question. Every time I start a new story, do you want me to delete the poll and start it over so that you can vote again since you can only vote once and I'm always adding new choices? Does that makes any sense? Yes? No? Oh, and sorry that this chapter is so short. As I said, I was watching the season finale. Man, Dez was so freaking smart in that episode. It's like it was opposite day or something. And ERMAHGHERD, SUMMER'S OVER IN A MONTH. AHHHHHHHH! OH, NO! Anyway, ignore my meltdown and review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: The beginning is a bit dull. Sorry about that. Just wait until the end.**

I wake up in Austin's arms. The room has a weird feel to it. I roll over and a hand goes over my mouth.

"Scream. I dare you," Tilly says. "Just come with me and I won't have to hurt anyone." I don't see any weapon or anything but I still don't trust her. I stand up quietly, trying not to wake Austin. She leads me to Austin's room.

"What are we doing in here?" I ask her quietly.

"You're gonna help me write a song," she says, gesturing to the piano.

"I'm gonna do _what_?" I ask.

"You. Are. Going. To. Help. Me. Write. A Song," she tells me, enunciating every syllable.

"Really? That's all you want from me?" I ask. She nods. "Uh, okay. What kind of song do you want to write? A happy song; a sad song; a love song; a like song? The possibilities are endless!" I exclaim, getting excited over songwriting.

"How about a hate song? About your annoying self?" she asks. I frown. "How about... a love song?"

"_You... _want to write a _love song_?" I ask her. She nods.

"About the love of my life," she says, looking up dreamily. "Then I want to sing it to him."

"Who is this special boy?" I ask, hoping it isn't Austin.

"His name is Dallas. He's here in River Dale too!" she exclaims. This summer just gets weirder and weirder. "Do you know him?"

"Oh, I know him alright. And he's-" '_a lying, cheating son of a bitch!'_ is what I wanted to say but let's let this girl dream. "-really cool. Anyway, let's start this song. How do you feel about Dallas?" She shifts uncomfortably.

"I don't know how to describe my feelings for him," she says. I sigh.

"Well, that helps so much," I say sarcastically. I pick up the keyboard and its stand and walk outside of Austin's room, in case he comes in.

"What were you two doing in my room?" Austin asks, sleepily.

"Nothing," I whisper. "Go back to sleep." I kiss his cheek and wait for him to go into his room but he doesn't move. "What?" I ask.

"What's going on here?" he asks me.

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't Tilly, like, your mortal enemy or something?" he asks.

"Oh, all she wanted was to write a song so that's what I'm gonna help her do. Then we'll be alright again. Right, Tilly?" I ask. She nods. Austin gives us a weird look before walking slowly into his room. Tilly and I walk to the recording room with Austin's keyboard.

"So how did you say you felt about Dallas?" I ask. She shrugs.

"I don't know how I feel about him," she tells me.

"Okay, how does he make you feel when you're around him?" I ask. "Do you get butterflies in your stomach?"

"Yeah, kinda," she says.

"Do you just wish he was yours?" I ask. She nods, smiling. "Do you just want to kiss him over and over again?" She nods her head vigorously. "Is his love... your drug? Does the fact that he might love you back keep you going?" I ask slowly. She nods, smiling. "I see. Maybe you need some rehab."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asks, eyeing me.

"A metaphor of sorts. Like, his love is your drug so you need rehab to not need it anymore," I explain.

"Oh, or maybe I just need some sleep. I got a sick obsession. I'm seein' it in my dreams," she tells me. Oh, I hope this is for the song and not real... That would be weird...

"I'm lookin' down every alley. I'm makin' those desperate calls," I say. She nods in approval.

"I'm stayin' up all night hopin'; hit my head against the wall," she says.

"Alright, now we need a bridge," I tell her.

"Ally, where are we going to get a bridge? I'm not gonna build one if that's what you think," she snaps.

"No, no, a song bridge. Like, it's what you sing before the chorus basically," I tell her.

"Oh so... What you got, boy, is hard to find. I think about it all the time. I'm all strung out my... heart is fried. I just can't get you off my mind," she sings. She still isn't a very good singer but oh well.

"Why couldn't you write like this in kindergarten?" I joke. She does seem to be much better at it now... She shrugs. I turn the keyboard to the electronic sound thinking this song would need that and start playing. It takes a while but we finally get the whole song done.

_Maybe I need some rehab_

_Or maybe just need some sleep_

_I got a sick obsession_

_I'm seein' it in my dreams_

_I'm lookin' down every alley_

_I'm makin' those desperate calls_

_I'm stayin' up all night hopin'_

_Hit my head against the wall_

_What you got, boy_

_Is hard to find_

_I think about it_

_All the time_

_I'm all strung out, my_

_Heart is fried_

_I just can't get you_

_Off my mind_

_Because your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Is my drug_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_I said_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Is my drug_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Won't listen to any advice_

_Momma's tellin' me I should think twice_

_But left to my own devices_

_I'm addicted its a crisis_

_My friends think I've gone crazy_

_My judgment's getting kinda hazy_

_My status is gonna be affected_

_If I keep it up like a love sick crackhead_

_What you've got boy_

_Is hard to find_

_I think about it_

_All the time_

_I'm all strung out, my_

_Heart is fried_

_I just cant get you off my mind_

_Because your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Is my drug_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_I said_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Is my drug_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_I don't care what people say_

_The rush is worth the price I pay_

_I get so high when you're with me_

_But crash and crave you when you leave_

_So I got a question:_

_Do you want to have a slumber party in my basement?_

_Do I make your heart beat like an 808 drum?_

_Is my love_

_Your drug?_

_Your drug?_

_Your drug?_

_Your drug?_

_Is my love_

_Your drug?_

_Because your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Is my drug_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_I said your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Is my drug_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Because your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Is my drug_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_I said your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Is my drug_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Your love_

_Is my drug_

I look down at our work. Which we wrote in _my _songbook. That was the only part I didn't like. We could have just written it down on a piece of paper. Wait a minute.

_What did we just write?_

This is a very weird song... but if it makes Tilly happy, I guess it's alright.

"So... you're gonna sing _this _to Dallas?" I ask her.

"Yeah. Thanks for helping me with it, Ally!" she exclaims, wrapping me in a large hug.

"Can't. Breathe. Squeezing. Too. Tight," I choke out. She automatically lets me go.

"Sorry!" she calls, running out of the room. I turn the keyboard back to the regular piano sound and stare down at the keys. I start a melody.

_You can be the peanut butter to my jelly_

_You can be the butterflies I feel in my belly_

_You can be the captain and I can be your first mate_

_You can be the chills that I feel on our first date_

_You can be the hero and I can be your sidekick_

_You can be the tear that I cry if we ever split_

_You can be the rain from the cloud when it's stormin'_

_Or you can be the sun when it shines in the mornin'_

_Don't know if I could ever be_

_Without you_

_'Cause boy, you complete me_

_And in time, I know that we'll both see_

_That we're all we need_

_'Cause you're the apple to my pie_

_You're the straw to my berry_

_You're the smoke to my high_

I pause, not knowing what to put next. I feel arms around my waist, pulling me towards them.

"And you're the one I wanna marry," Austin sings in my ear. I write it down and turn around, still in his arms. "Where'd Tilly go?" he asks. I shrug.

"I just know she left. She's gonna go sing the song we wrote to Dallas. I don't know if she's gonna do it now or later though," I tell him.

"To Dallas?" he asks me.

"Yeah, she likes him," I say.

"I know Dallas is cute and all, but he isn't _that _cute. I swear, everybody likes him apparently," he says, rolling his eyes.

"You think Dallas is cute?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"What? No, what? I didn't-" he starts.

"I know what you meant," I say, putting a finger to his lips and letting out a giggle.

"Your giggle is so adorable," he tells me, smiling.

"And _you _are so adorable," I say. He starts to kiss me but we're quickly interrupted.

"Aren't you coming?" Tilly asks, making me jump. Austin releases me.

"Coming where, Tilly?" I ask.

"I'm going to sing the song to Dallas," she says, excitedly.

"Can't you go by yourself?" I ask her.

"No. You have to come with me, Ally!" she exclaims.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes!"

"Fine," I say, exasperatedly. We leave the dancing room and walk downstairs. "Where are you going to sing this to him at?"

"The hotel he's staying at," she tells me.

"You know where he's staying?" I ask.

"Yeah, he's staying right on the outskirts of town," she says.

"She's been stalking him too," I mutter to Austin as she leads us across town.

"I have not," she snaps. "I just stay there too and I saw him the other day." We walk into the hotel and we ride the elevator up. Tilly knocks on 32B. Dallas opens the door after a few minutes of knocking. He jumps and falls backwards when he sees who it is.

"T-Tilly, what are you doing here?" he asks. Tilly doesn't say anything. She just stares down at him with a big smile on her face.

"She wants to sing you a song," I tell him. He rolls his eyes in disgust at me. I smirk.

"Alright, I guess you can sing it for me. But you have to stay out there," he says. He stands back up and waits for Tilly to start singing. Once she sings the part about having a slumber party in her basement, a look crosses Dallas' face. When she finishes the whole song, she smiles at Dallas brightly, waiting for what he has to say.

"Um... it was a great song... I guess," he tells her.

"Do you like me back?!" she asks, jumping up and down. He glances at me then back to her.

"No, sorry," he says. He quickly closes the door.

"He doesn't like me because he likes _you_!" she yells at me. She storms down the hall. Before she walks into what I'm guessing is her room, she turns back to me.

"This isn't over," she says. Austin pulls me into a hug as she walks into her room.

"This is just great," I mutter into his chest.

"It'll be alright as long as you don't get paranoid like you did-"

"I wasn't paranoid!" I argue. He walks me home.

_We'll be fine, Ally._

No, we won't! You know what Tilly is capable of!

_Ally..._

What?!

_Calm down..._

How am I supposed to be calm?!

_Just relax._

Don't use that word with me!

_What? Relax? Well, it's what you need to do._

I sigh and look up at Austin. He feels my eyes on him and looks down.

"What's wrong, Als?" Austin asks me. "You know, besides a psychopath that's after you?" He laughs lightly at his lame attempt at lightening the mood. I shake my head. We walk into my room and lie down on my bed. He wraps his arms around me and I sink into them. We sit there like this for a few hours in silence. I feel my phone vibrate.

"Hey, Trish. Now isn't really a good time to-" I start.

"Look, Allyson, we've barely talked all summer. Now you are gonna get yourself on that laptop and you are going to ooVoo me right now. And that's final!" she orders into my phone. She hangs up and I grab my laptop from my bedside table. I open it and run ooVoo.

"Girl! I haven't seen your face in forever!" she exclaims when she answers. "Whoa, what's going on between you two?"

"We've been together for a few weeks now," I say, leaning against him.

"What?! I'm supposed to be the first to know!" she yells at me.

"Sorry!" I exclaim.

"You gotta kiss for me then," she tells me, "to make up for not telling me." Austin and I look at each other awkwardly.

"Trish..." I say.

"Do you hate me?" she asks, starting to cry.

"No, of course not!" I exclaim. She abruptly stops crying.

"Then kiss for me," she commands. I turn to Austin and kiss him gently.

"Weak!" Trish yells. "Boooo!" I roll my eyes. "You gotta use some tongue or it isn't a kiss at all!"

"Trish, I don't think we've even kissed like that before..." I tell her with a nervous glance at Austin.

"Except that night when you threatened to go back to Miami. And then you-"

"Me? You were the one who started the-"

"Ally, you grabbed my shirt and, like..." he trails off.

"Really?" I ask. "Wow, okay."

"Hello? Are you gonna French each other or not?" Trish asks. I turn to Austin. We lean in and kiss. We kiss for a minute too. It just stretches on and on and on and-

"Alright, that's enough," Trish says, disgusted.

"You asked for it," I joke. I hear a tap on the window and jump. Why does it always have to be the window?

"Why are you so jumpy?" Trish asks me.

"Tilly is after her," Austin tells her.

"Tilly Thompson?! The freak?!" Trish asks.

"That's her," I sigh. She taps on the window again and I crawl off of my bed.

"Don't open the window!" Austin yells at me. I ignore him, draw the curtains, and pull up the window.

"What do you want, Tilly?" I ask. She doesn't answer. "I know you're out there!" I call into the night. Well, not night exactly. The sun is going down but I wouldn't exactly call it night. Maybe about an hour, it'll be dark enough to call it night.

"Hey, _Ally-Gator!_" Tilly exclaims, emerging from the tree branches. Even though I knew she was there, she still scared me and I fell backwards onto my floor. "You need to break up with Dallas!" she yells at me.

"I'm not dating Dallas!" I yell back. I stand back up.

"I know you are! That's why he doesn't love me! Because he loves you! You're cheating on Austin with Dallas! I just know it!" she shouts into the window. She drops down to the ground and runs off. I slam my window shut, lock it, and turn around.

"Is that true, Ally?" Austin asks me. I shake my head.

"Of course it isn't," I say crawling back into bed. "My crush on Dallas is long gone."

"_Trish! No video chatting on the job!" _someone says in the background from Trish's end. She sighs irritatedly.

"I have to go," she mumbles. "We're talking more later though." We hang up and I turn to Austin.

"Are you sure you aren't cheating on me with Dallas?" he asks sadly.

"Austin, you're the only one for me. I promise," I say, pecking him on the lips. He still looks a bit uneasy so I continue. "Why would I even need to cheat when you?"

"What do you mean?" he asks, wanting me to specify.

"Well, you're sweet... you're a child at heart... you're adorable... you're attractive... I mean, we're best friends for a reason, aren't we?" I ask. He nods.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he says smiling.

_I wake up in the middle of the night and Austin isn't by my side anymore. I sit up and see him across the room, tied to a chair._

"_Austin!" I call out. That's when I notice his mouth is also covered so he can't speak. He mumbles something through the cloth that I don't catch. Tilly comes out of the shadows and rests her arm around Austin's shoulders._

"_Oh, I'm sorry. Did I take something that was yours?" she asks, pouting sarcastically. She rolls her eyes and turns back to Austin. "Well, I don't care because you took something of mine too," she snaps._

"_I'm not dating Dallas and he isn't in love with me!" I yell at her._

"_Yeah, sure," she mutters. She walks over to me with some sort of box. She takes out one of the small fish. They're a brownish black color and they're very ugly. They look like... leeches. "Now, I'm going to put one of these on each of your fingers. I'll take them off when you admit that you and Dallas are madly in love."_

"_But we're not!" I exclaim as she puts one on my fingers. It bites down and I feel the blood being drained out of that finger. I try to move but it's like I'm bound in place. She keeps putting them on until each of my ten fingers each have a leech on it. My fingers become very pale._

"_Admit it!" Tilly yells at me._

"_Never!" I shout even though the pain is excruciating._

"_Say it!"_

"_No!"_

"_Say it!"_

"_No!" I yell. I know most of the blood is gone from my fingers._

I wake up gasping for air. I still feel the pain in my fingers though. I look down and see that my hands are in a fish tank full of cool water. I yank them out of it and see two baby sharks biting down on the tips of my fingers. I let out a small squeal as I detach them from my fingers and drop them back into the tank. I look beside me and see Austin sleeping.

"Ah," I say as I notice the blood streaming from my fingers into the fish tank. Tilly comes out from under my bed.

"Thanks for feeding my sharks, _Ally-Gator_," she tells me. She picks up the tank and drops out of my open window. I whimper, remembering when I locked my window earlier today. I shake Austin awake and he freaks out when he sees my bleeding fingers.

"Ally, what happened?!" he asks worriedly.

"Tilly," I answer.

**Sorry it's late tonight. I've been getting interrupted all day. Anyway, review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	20. Chapter 20

I stare down at my bandaged, useless fingers. I can't do anything now. I can't hold anything. I can't write. I can't play any instruments. I can't text Trish back. All they can do is hang from my hands lazily. I hear my phone ring and I grab for it, only to remember I can't use my fingers. I sigh and Austin picks up my phone.

"Hello?" he answers it. "She's right here... She can't exactly hold the phone right now... Alright." He puts my phone on speakerphone.

"Hello?" I ask.

"Hey, what's up? Why can't you hold the phone?" she asks. "Did Tilly do something?"

"Yeah, she fed my fingers to her sharks," I mutter.

"She did _what?!_" she asks.

"No, no, I mean, I woke up and I had baby sharks attached to my fingers," I explain.

"Ally... _can I come murder her?!"_ she asks me.

"No, Trish, you cannot murder Tilly," I forbid.

"Fine," she mutters. "How about I just-?"

"No, Trish," I say.

"But I just wanna-"

"No," I tell her. We talk like we normally do for a while before her manager tells her that her break is over.

"Austin!" Mimi calls from downstairs.

"I'll be back," Austin promises me. "Don't move." He walks out of my room. At first I don't realize why he told me not to move. Then I remember Tilly. I tighten myself into a little ball and wait for Austin's return. He's only gone for almost literally a minute or two.

"We gotta go to the store, Als," he says when he walks through my door.

"Do I have to go with you?" I ask, pouting.

"Would you like to stay here _alone?_" he asks me. I shoot up.

"No, I'm good," I say quickly, running up to him. He wraps his arm around me comfortingly. We walk outside. I scream as something falls on my head.

"Get it off! Get it off!" I shriek as I hit my head repeatedly. A hairy brown spider with long spindly legs drops to the ground. Austin and I both scream high-pitched screams as it crawls away. Suddenly, a foot comes down and squishes the large spider.

"I killed it for you. You're welcome," Tilly says eerily. She walks slowly down the walk and turns to walk towards town without another word. I exhale and Austin leads me in the same direction. I feel like we're following her or something.

She's only about ten feet in front of us. She finally turns to who-knows-where and Austin and I can walk faster. We had been walking at a very slow pace so we wouldn't catch up with her.

I look down at my fingers and think about last night. How did she get into my window? It was locked. I distinctly remember locking it. Where did she get sharks anyway? That part freaks me out the most. Well, I guess it doesn't but the fact that she has some freaks me out. And what made me dream Austin tied up? That part _confuses_ me the most. I get the leeches part because of the sharks. But what held me in place on the bed? Maybe it was Austin's arms? Because they were around me? I guess I just felt imprisoned by them for some reason.

When we get to the store, we buy a bunch of fruits and vegetables and some seasonings or whatever. I wasn't really paying attention honestly; just watching out for Tilly. But she didn't do anything. I guess she only strikes at night. Or maybe that was just a one-time thing. I'm over-thinking this. Way too much. We walk back to the house and give Mimi everything we bought. She thanks us and Austin and I walk to the living room. I sit down in his lap and close my eyes as he wraps his arms around me. He turns on the tv and turns it to the news.

"_Be on the lookout for this young woman_," the news anchor says. I look up and see a picture of Tilly. I blink, rub my eyes, and look again. This time, it's just an unfamiliar blonde woman. She looks like she's in her mid-twenties or so. "_She's been kidnapping teenage boys."_

"Ooh," I joke, poking Austin in the stomach.

"_If this woman comes to your house and asks if she can stay for the night, DO NOT LET HER!_" the anchor yells. A teenage boy around Austin and I's age comes on the screen.

"_Sh-she made me have sex with her. She-" _the boy starts.

"Um..." I say. I take the remote from Austin and fiddle with the power button, trying to turn it off. Finally, my thumb hits the button and it turns off. "I think that's enough tv for today..."

"I think so too," he tells me. I play around with my crippled fingers for a minute. I feel Austin's eyes on me but I don't look up.

"Als," he finally says. I stop playing with my fingers, silently telling him that I'm listening. "We need to do something about this Tilly problem," he sighs. _But what? _I ask, hoping he can read my mind. Obviously he can't but it was worth a try. "Will you look at me?" he asks. I look up slowly. "What can we do?" he asks, begging me to think. I stare off into space and think back to every cop show I've ever watched with my dad.

Call the police and have her arrested? For what? For breaking and entering? She did break in but she didn't break the window trying to get in so we have no proof of that. For getting her sharks to attack my fingers? She could have gotten rid of those sharks by now. Heck, for all we know, they could have been rentals or something.

Then I remember a specific episode. There was this couple that broke up. The girlfriend didn't want to break up so she followed him around as if they were still together. When he screamed it to her in the middle of the street, she cried and went home. She came back to his house later that day and said that they couldn't break up because they were perfect for each other. What happened then...? I rack my brain for the answer... He did something... He... He...

"He got a restraining order!" I exclaim.

"What? Who got a restraining order, Als?" Austin asks me.

"No, the man who... never mind. But we could get a restraining order against her," I explain to him.

"A restraining order? I don't know," he says slowly.

"Do you want to get rid of her or not?" I ask him.

"Well... a restraining order just seems kinda harsh..." he tells me rubbing the back of his neck. I stand up.

"What the hell?" I ask him. "Do you see what she did to my fingers? She's left them completely worthless and, by extent, she's left _me _worthless!"

"Als, you aren't worthless. I'm just saying..." He sighs. "There's no point in arguing with you. You're gonna win so I'll just give up now. We'll go tomorrow."

"T-tomorrow?" I ask. "Wh-why not tonight? You saw what she did last night." I hold my hands in front of his face.

"Actually, I didn't see," he tells me.

"Well, you saw the aftermath. Hasn't Mimi ever told you never to argue with a female?" I ask him.

"Plenty of times," he answers.

"Then why can't we please just go tonight?" I beg. "You know how scared I am already."

"Dinner's ready..." Mimi says from the living room doorway. She seems like she's been standing there for a while actually. "D-did I interrupt something...?

"No, nothing," I tell her. "We were just having a disagreement on _when _we should go get the restraining order."

"Restraining order?" she asks. "Against who?"

"Tilly Thompson," I tell her.

"That girl _still _hates you?" she asks me.

"How come everyone knows her except me?" Austin asks.

"Lester told me about her," Mimi tells him.

"So when do _you _think we should go get it?" I ask, bringing her into the argument.

"Surprisingly, I agree with Austin," she says. She opens her mouth to say something but Austin cuts her off.

"What do you mean 'surprisingly'?" he asks.

"Honey, you aren't the sharpest needle in the stack," she says in her sweetest voice.

"Well, I love you too, Mom," he mutters.

"You know I'm just messing with you," she tells him. "Anyway, I agree with him. Let's see if she does anything tonight. If she does, then we'll go as soon as you wake up. If she doesn't then..." She shrugs. What is wrong with these people? I'm surrounded by crazy people! …

Or maybe Austin's right... Maybe I am paranoid... Damn you, Tilly Thompson. Damn you, paranoia. Now I'm afraid of sharks. Now I'm even more afraid of spiders. Now I'm afraid to sleep at night. Even _with _Austin by my side. I get the worst thought... of sleeping... _alone_. I don't think I'd survive the night. To Tilly, it'd be the perfect time to attack. Austin takes out his phone-I'm guessing he got a text-and starts typing. I push him out of my mind. I still really wish we could go tonight but oh well. I'll just have to endure it. Austin's frustrated sigh interrupts my thoughts.

"What's wrong?" I ask him. He shoves his phone in his pocket and shakes his head.

"Nothing," he says, shrugging. "So how about that dinner?" He stands up. I follow him into the dining room where Mike and my dad are already seated, waiting for dinner. Mimi brings out vegetable soup and fruit salad. This seems like lunch to me for some reason. Like, fruit salad is a lunch food to me. I grip the spoon in my fist (since I can't hold it like usual) and raise it to my mouth. As the first spoonful of soup slithers down my throat, it comes right back up. I spit it out into my bowl.

"I told you that her food was disgusting," Austin says. I shake my head and look down at the food. The sight makes me want to throw up. I hit Austin's shoulder and point to my soup. He looks down at it. "Gross!" he exclaims.

"Is there a problem?" Mimi asks, sitting down.

"B-b-b-bugs," I whisper. There are all different types of beetles, ants, flies, and worms in my soup. Mimi looks in it and takes my bowl away immediately. I sit there staring at the spot it had been at. Mimi comes back with a brand new bowl. I shake my head. "N-no thanks," I say.

"Ally, honey, you have to eat something," she tells me.

"No, really, I-I'm not hungry," I tell her, still staring down at the beige table cloth.

"You were hungry five seconds ago," she says.

"I lost my appetite," I whisper.

"Will you eat something later?" she asks, a trace of hope in her voice. I nod silently.

I climb into bed slowly. Mimi made me eat something before bed even though it was just half of a sandwich. I wasn't afraid of finding more bugs; I really did lose my appetite after seeing all of them in my soup. Austin starts to walk toward the open door.

"Where are you going?" I ask worriedly, my eyes wide.

"Relax, Ally, I'm just closing the door," he says, shutting it.

"Wh-why?" I ask. He shrugs. I pull down the curtains of the bed so you can't see in after Austin lies down. I don't know why I think this will protect me. It helps a little.

"I wouldn't do that," Austin tells me, stretching out.

"Why not?" I ask, lying down beside him.

"If someone walked in, they'd think we were doing something," he says, closing his eyes and smirking. I prop myself up on my elbow.

"And we wouldn't be?" I ask, tracing circles on his chest. His eyes flash open.

"What?" he asks dumbfounded.

"Don't worry. I'm just joking," I say, lying back down.

"Oh, I wasn't... I wasn't _worrying _exactly," he says. I laugh.

"Shut up," I joke. We lie there in silence for a few minutes.

"We could do it, you know," he tells me suddenly.

"We could do what?" I ask.

"Y'know..." he says. It takes me a minute to find out what he's talking about.

"Whoa..." I say.

"Well... It _would _take your mind off of things," he tells me.

"You do realize that we're only fifteen, right?" I ask.

"When's the proper age to do it then?" he asks.

"Whenever you're ready," I tell him immediately. I read it somewhere. In health class... or something like that. I can't remember. Obviously, this was the wrong answer. He rolls over on top of me.

"Well, I'm ready," he says. He kisses me. I'm the first to pull away.

"Well, I'm not," I tell him. He rolls off of me and smirks.

"I'm just joking, Als, calm down," he tells me with a chuckle.

"You better be joking," I mutter. I roll my eyes and roll over. "You are so stupid," I say laughing.

"Oh, _I'm _stupid? _You're _the one who fell for it," he says. He's right.

"Eh, whatever," I say indifferently. "I'm really starting to regret joking about this." I hear him let out a laugh. I yawn and it isn't long before I'm asleep.

I wake up and reach for Austin but he isn't there. My eyes flash open and I sit up. The lights are off now and the canopy has been pulled back on Austin's side. I run to his room to see if he's in there but his bed is untouched. I run through the house, checking everywhere he could be.

"Austin..." I whine quietly. I walk back up to my room, tears streaming down my face. Where could he be? I hear scratching on my window. Not tapping. Scratching. I sit down in the corner farthest from my window and hug my knees. I put my head down and cover my ears, trying to block out the sound. I hear the window slide up and my tears come faster.

**Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I'll either have another up today (probably not because it's thirty minutes to midnight) or I'll have two up tomorrow. Either way, I'm gonna start the next chapter right now. Oh, and you guys are amazingly fast! I didn't put the sequel up as a choice not too long ago and it already has the second most votes! Tigerab1997, the stuff in italics was a dream. The rest was real. Hope that cleared everything up for you! Review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	21. Chapter 21

I hear footsteps walking across the room towards me. I make myself as small as possible. I feel myself being stood up but I still refuse to open my eyes. They push me out of my room. I know we're nearing the stairs but I'm still afraid to open my eyes.

"Step down," Tilly tells me. I open my eyes just to go down the stairs. Then I close them back because I'm afraid of what's going to happen. I hear the front door open. I feel the cold pavement on my bare feet and know that we're in the middle of the street in front of the house. I begin to shiver from the cold. Tilly's hand leaves my back.

"Don't move," she orders. I just stand there with my eyes closed. She's very silent and all I can hear is my own heavy breathing. I've stopped crying but my face is still wet. I hear a car coming. I want to move my feet but it's like they're glued to the ground.

"Ally?" I hear someone ask. I still don't open my eyes. "Ally, what are you doing?! Get out of the middle of the road!" they scream at me. Arms encircle me and carry me to the yard. My legs give out and I fall to the grass. A car drives past me into the driveway and I still haven't opened my eyes. The person picks me up.

"What are you doing in the middle of the road in the middle of the night?" they ask, beginning to walk. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. "Answer me," they say when I don't answer. "At least open your eyes." I pry my eyes open, which had been glued shut with dried tears, and look up. It's Austin, of course. Tilly is nowhere to be found. She must have left when she saw the car coming so I'd look crazy. I know Austin thinks I am.

"Where were you?" I ask.

"Jimmy wanted me to come to the studio whenever I could and I was awake so I went," he explains quickly. "The important question is: what were you doing in the middle of the road?"

"Tilly led me there. She..." I trail off, realizing that that was the whole explanation.

"Then where is she now?" he asks. It came out accusingly. It sounded very rude, the way he said it.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask.

"I just asked where she went," he says innocently.

"Oh, don't play innocent with me," I tell him. I jump out of his arms. "My legs work," I mutter. I walk into the house and up to my room. I close the door and lock it behind me. Austin tries to open the door but when he can't, he knocks.

"Als, what did I do wrong?" he asks me through the door. I climb under my covers and realize it's colder than it should be. That's when I remember the window. I walk over to it, close it and get back into bed, pulling the covers over my head. Austin continues rapping on my door and asking what he did wrong. The rhythm of his knocking eventually puts me to sleep.

I awake early in the morning. It was midnight, I think, when I went back to sleep and now it's—I glance at my phone—seven in the morning?! I sigh and stand up. I drag myself across the room, still in my pajamas. I walk out of my room and trip over something. I don't fall but I do stumble a bit. I look down and see Austin sitting by my door, wide awake and staring at the opposite wall.

"Austin, what are you doing down there?" I ask. "You should be sleeping right now." He stands up.

"I couldn't sleep knowing I did something wrong to make you upset," he tells me. I smile. Not because he felt bad, no. Well, yeah, kind of because he felt bad. Because most boys wouldn't care if you're mad at them or not. They would just think that the girl is on her period or something. The smile is wiped off of my face when I remember why I'm mad at him.

"You think I'm crazy," I say quietly.

"What are you talking about?" he asks me.

"You were talking to me like I didn't have a bit of sense," I spit. "Last night." He looks at me... _like I'm crazy. _He shakes his head. No. I didn't ask a yes or no question. He's not denying that he thought I was crazy. I roll my eyes, scoff, and turn around.

"You aren't denying it," I say as I walk down the stairs.

"Ally, I don't think you're crazy," he tells me, following me down the stairs.

"Like I believe it," I mutter. When we get to the foot of the stairs, he grabs my shoulder and turns me around.

"Ally... I... do not... think... that you're... crazy," he tells me slowly to make sure I understand.

"Yeah, right. I know that you think I did all that stuff to myself. Well, maybe not the shark thing. But I know you think that I just walked out into the middle of the street for no reason," I say. He scratches the back of his neck. Again, he isn't denying it. "Just as I thought." I turn on my heel and continue toward the kitchen.

"If I think you're crazy, it's the good kind of crazy," he says, following me.

"The good kind of crazy," I mumble, "hilarious." I grab a bowl and the box of Frosted Flakes. I pour in the cereal and some milk. It takes a minute but I finally get a spoon from the drawer. I sit down at the table and he sits beside me.

"You know I don't think you're crazy, right?" he asks me. I shake my head. "Ally, I-" Mimi walks into the kitchen and he falls silent.

"Again, am I in-?"

"No, Mimi, you aren't interrupting anything," I tell her, grasping the spoon in my fist and bringing a spoonful of cereal to my mouth. Austin pours himself a bowl of Trix cereal and sits back down. He starts eating it as Mimi brews some coffee. She stares at us when she sits back down.

"You both seem tense... Are you two in the middle of an argument?" Mimi asks, breaking the silence. I sigh. "I'll take that as a yes?" she tells us questioningly as if asking for confirmation. I nod my head slightly. "What's it about? If you don't mind my asking," she says.

"Austin thinks I'm crazy," I mutter, staring down at my bowl of cereal. I hear a clang of metal against glass.

"I never said she was crazy," Austin argues.

"Yeah, but he acts like I am!" I say, my voice getting louder with every word.

"I do not! She just got mad at me for no reason!" he yells. I don't know why we're speaking indirectly to each other like this. Mimi shushes us.

"You'll wake up the whole house," she says quietly. I continue eating my cereal.

"Austin shouldn't have acted like I was crazy," I tell her.

"I never said she was," he says.

"Well, you have a point," Mimi says. My head snaps up.

"What? You think I'm crazy too?" I ask. "I knew it. You both think I'm crazy!" I pour out the rest of my cereal and stomp up to my room. I change into clean clothes, run a brush through my messy hair, pick up my songbook and walk back downstairs.

"Ally, I didn't mean-"

I close the door, cutting Mimi off. I see Dez walking up the drive. I walk right past him, not caring why he's here so early. He turns around and follows me all the way to the police station. I walk up to the man at the tall desk.

"Hello, I'd like to file for a restraining order," I tell him.

* * *

"Ally, I was so worried about you. Where were you? Why didn't you answer my calls?" Austin asks when I walk through the front door with Dez.

"I was at the police station. And I didn't bring my phone with me," I tell him, setting down my songbook and turning to him. I see Dez reach for my book out of the corner of my eye. "Dez, don't touch my book."

"Why were you at the police station?" Austin asks me.

"I filed for a restraining order," I say, stressing the last two words. "I have to wait until tomorrow to know if they granted my request or not. So, whether you believe I'm crazy or not, this should all be over soon."

"Ally, I didn't-"

"Save it. It doesn't matter anymore," I tell him. "So what are you doing here, Dez?" I turn around. "_Where's... my... book_?"

"I don't know," Austin says suspiciously.

"Dez!" I yell. I look back up and see Dez standing with my book pressed against him. He panics and throws it to Austin. I turn around and Austin's eyes widen. They end up playing monkey in the middle with my book. Finally, I just sit down in the middle of the floor and start crying.

"Alright, Dez, I think that's enough," Austin says, kneeling by my side. He hands me my book back and I cease my fake crying immediately.

"Thanks," I say, smiling brightly and standing up.

"You tricked me," he tells me, playfully mad.

"Well, if you two wouldn't have taken my book..." I say. Then I realize something. "Wait a minute. Wasn't I mad at you, like, less than five minutes ago?" He smirks. I hit his shoulder and stand up. "So what do you losers want to do today?"

"Ooh, we should—Hey!" Austin says. This time, I smirk.

"You were saying?" I ask.

"Oh, I was gonna say that we should go to IHOP!" he exclaims.

"We should go somewhere _fun_," I specify.

"Hey, pancakes are fun!" he argues.

"Okay, let's go somewhere that we can do something," I say. "And before you say eating is doing something, that isn't what I mean." Austin closes his mouth.

"Hey, we should go to the zoo," Dez pipes up. I turn around and his bag is open on the counter. He has panda ears on his head now. "I've been wanting to take my best friend and my new best friend to meet my other best friends at the zoo."

"Lemme guess. They're pandas?" I ask. A weird look crosses his face.

"No? I hate pandas. They're monkeys," he says, his goofy smile returning.

"Let's go see Dez's friends then," I agree. We tell Mimi then we set off for the zoo. Dez runs straight to the monkey section. The thing I forgot about River Dale Zoo is that it's an open cage. Which means we can walk inside and the animals could attack us if they wanted to.

"Benjamin!" Dez exclaims, running over to a brownish-blackish monkey. The monkey crawls onto Dez's neck and I latch onto Austin's arm. Dez walks over to us. I whimper as the monkey stares at me. "He wants you to pet him," Dez says. I shake my head.

"No thanks," I tell him, shaking my head again.

"Come on, Ally. He'll hate you if you don't," he tells me. The monkey makes a monkey noise and I jump. I scratch the monkey's neck. He climbs onto my arm and crawls to my neck. I whimper again as he begins to pick through my hair.

"What is Benjamin doing?" I ask.

"He's looking for fleas," Austin answers.

"I don't have fleas!" I exclaim. Austin looks up and laughs. He begins to pick through my hair too. I stare at Dez with wide eyes. "I don't have fleas, you freaks!" I push Austin away and set Benjamin on the floor of the open cage. He whimpers and puts the saddest face on. He crawls around in a circle. Then he just lies down.

"Aw, Benjamin! Ally, you made him sad!" Dez yells at me.

"I'm sorry!" I pick Benjamin up and cradle him in my arms. "You're not so bad, are you?" I ask, rubbing his stomach. My voice turns to a baby voice. "No, you're not. Benjamin's a cutie pie! Yes, he is! Yes, he is!" I look up at Austin and Dez who are staring at me. "Um, can we go somewhere else now?" I ask. They nod. "I'll see you later, Benjamin." I kiss his cheek and set him down.

"Don't try and steal my Ally," Austin says with a pointed look at Benjamin. "I'm watching you." I can't help but laugh as he puts his arm around me. As we walk to the section with the wolves, I see a girl. A _blond _girl. I forgot all about her for a while. Tilly freaking Thompson.

**Oh, my gosh, you guys.**** I could have _SWORN_ that I uploaded this chapter last night but I guess I didn't. I'm sorry. Forgive me? Anyway, I'll try to get caught up today. No promises; only hopes. Review! **

**Love, Kenzie**


	22. Chapter 22

Suddenly, I remember something my mom said once, when she went off about her book: "African Lowland Gorilla Love Behavior, and How It Relates to the Dating Habits of American Teenagers."

My mom had said, "It's so obvious that he likes you. The way he avoided eye contact with you, threw his backpack at your feet, thrust out his chest, and picked that lint out of your hair. It's classic African lowland gorilla love behavior." It was after school which is why he threw his backpack. But I was very confused by this because one: we weren't teenagers; two: I never even noticed that he "thrust out his chest." I miss my mom so much...

I try to forget about her... and _Tilly_ and follow Dez to the wolves habitat. Thankfully, it isn't an open cage like the monkey habitat. We don't stay there long since I'm a bit afraid of the wolves. Next, we go and see the dolphins in the water section of the zoo.

I have a stuffed dolphin at home named Dougie. I've had him forever. Austin always used to try and steal him from me. I'd just walk in his room and he'd be cuddling with it. I smile at the memory. He's probably forgotten all about Dougie by now though.

"Hey, Ally?" Austin asks. I turn to him and raise my eyebrows. "Do you still have Dougie the Dolphin?" he asks. I guess I spoke too soon. I let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, why?" I ask.

"When I come to Miami next summer..." he trails off.

"What?" I ask.

"Can I...?" he trails off again.

"What, Austin? Can you what?" I ask.

"Can I have Dougie the Dolphin?!" he finally spits out excitedly.

"No, you cannot have Dougie the Dolphin," I say sticking my tongue out at him. He sticks his own out at me.

"So, Dez," I say, wanting to include him in our conversation. I turn around but he's gone. "Dez?" I ask. "Where'd he go?" Does he always disappear like this? Austin points to the dolphins. I don't see what this has to do with Dez but I look anyway. I see Dez swimming around with the dolphins with a bucket tucked under his arm.

"What is he doing?" I ask him.

"He likes to feed the dolphins," Austin tells me. I smile at the adorable dolphins and Dez's kindness.

"Aw, that's so sweet," I say. Just then, Dez throws a fish from the bucket up into the air and all of the dolphins dive for it. After he feeds the dolphins, he gets out of the water, dries off, and walks back over to us. One of the dolphins follow him as he walks around the edge of the water. When he stops walking, the dolphin nudges his foot.

"Aw, are you still hungry?" Dez asks. It lets out a dolphin squeak. "Sorry, little guy, I don't have any more food." The dolphin swims over a bit and nudges my foot this time. I kneel down.

"You are so cute," I say, patting its head. "Sorry, but I don't have any food either." It squeaks again and leans into my hand. Then it squirts me with water. I stand up and wipe off my face. Wonderful. After the dolphins, we go to another place in the water section. I don't know where but I'm just following Dez. I stare at my feet as we walk. When I look up, I let out a small squeal and stare down at my fingers.

"What's wrong, Als? They're just sharks," Austin says with a small laugh. I don't look up. "Oh... shoot. Um, Dez, can we go somewhere else? Ally... She doesn't like sharks," he tells him.

"Why not? Sharks are amazing!" Dez exclaims. I whimper as, out of the corner of my eye, I see one pass by the glass closest to us.

"Sharks are the reason that she has those bandages on her fingers," Austin whispers to him.

"What bandages?" Dez asks, turning around. He looks down at my fingers. "Ohh... _those _bandages. I can fix those little messed up fingers of yours, Ally." He takes off his backpack and looks inside. "Ah, dang it. I must have left my magic potions at home. Oh, wait!" He pulls something out and hands it to me.

"What's this?" I ask him, staring at the yellowish liquid.

"It's a magic healing potion," he tells me.

"What's in it?" I ask.

"It has... a bunch of different medicines mixed with my-"

"I don't wanna know," I tell him, handing the bottle back to him. "So where are we going next?"

"Ooh, let's go see the dinosaurs!" he exclaims.

"They have dinosaurs... at a _zoo_... in _2012?" _I ask. "Didn't they go extinct a long time ago?" He's already running across the zoo. Austin and I try to keep up but Dez is very fast with his long legs. When I see what habitat we're at, I start laughing.

"Dez, these aren't dinosaurs. They're gi-" I start but Austin cuts me off when Dez frowns.

"They're dinosaurs, Dez. Ally doesn't know what she's talking about," he tells Dez. I look up at him confused. "Let him think they're dinosaurs," he whispers to me. I nod in understanding. I see Tilly staring at me from across the giraffe habitat. She smiles a creepy smile and disappears to her right. She gets lost in a crowd of people and the next time I see her, she's halfway to me. Then I lose her again and don't see her anymore. Maybe she left?

"Hi there, _Ally-Cat!_" I hear from behind me. Of course I wouldn't be so lucky. I jump and almost reach Austin's height. I'm not exaggerating. I shove a strand of hair in my mouth.

"H-h-hi, T-T-Tilly," I stutter.

"Listen to me, Tilly. Ally and I have had _enough _of you. Ally's already filed for a restraining order against you. We're just waiting for it to be confirmed. _Leave us alone!"_ Austin yells at her. Fear fills her eyes.

"A restraining order?" she asks, her voice trembling. "B-But I already have four of them! If I get another one, my mom will totally ground me!"

"If you leave us alone now, we'll forget all about everything that's happened and we'll cancel the request for a restraining order. Right, Ally?" Austin asks me.

"R-right," I stutter through my hair. She sighs.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, Ally. I won't do it anymore," she tells me. "I really am sorry."

"I accept your apology," I mumble, still chewing my hair.

"I won't bother you anymore," she says. She whispers the next word. "Maybe." My eyes widen. "I'm joking! I'm joking!" She mutters something as she walks away. Awesome! She's over and done with! I let out a sigh of relief. I hear a phone ring and Austin takes his out.

"Hello?" he answers it. "Oh, yeah, sure, I'll be there in a minute, Jimmy." Austin looks at Dez and I's faces and raises the phone back to his ear. "Actually, Jimmy, I can't come today... Alright... Bye." He puts his phone back in his pocket and smiles at us. Dez and I smother him in hugs. "Don't kill me," Austin jokes.

"Is he mad?" I ask quietly when Dez and I pull away from him.

"No, no... Maybe... Kind of... Yes," he finally says. I sigh.

"If you have to go, then go. I'll hang out with Dez and we'll see you later," I tell him. His career is really important. He can't give it all away over a day at the zoo. He shrugs.

"I don't _have _to go," he says, uneasy.

"Austin, go," I insist.

"You really want me to?" he asks.

"Well, I don't _want _you to but you need to," I say.

"Yep, that's a deal-breaker. You don't want me to go so I'm not going," he tells me firmly. Austin, Dez, and I spend _all _day at the zoo. It's really late and we should be getting home now. Austin insists that we stop by IHOP and get a few pancakes though. So we get a bunch of pancakes to go. Dez gets out when we stop at his house with his mound of pancakes.

"Bye, Dez!" Austin and I call together. Austin shoves one of his pancakes in his mouth and pulls out of Dez's driveway.

"So are you happy?" he asks me, breaking the silence.

"About what?" I ask confused.

"About Tilly being gone!" he exclaims happily.

"Yeah, I guess..." I say. "Oh, we need to go cancel my request." I look down at the off-white cloth wrapped around my fingers. Austin pulls over to the side of the road. He takes my hand and caresses it.

"Ally, it's fine. It's all over now. I won't let anything else hurt you ever again. I swear," he tells me. He kisses my cheek and smiles.

"I don't know, Austin. It didn't look like it was over. Tilly just—"

"Don't worry about it," he says.

"Okay, but—"

"Ally," Austin says.

"But Tilly might—"

"You're wrong," he tells me.

"But she'll come back and—"

"You're wrong," he repeats.

"I love you," I say with a smirk.

"You're wrong... Wait a minute, what?" he asks. I laugh and he starts the car. We drive to the police station, cancel my request, then continue home. We walk inside and I notice something.

"Where are my pancakes?" I ask slowly. Austin shrugs. "Austin..."

"What?! I didn't eat them!" he exclaims.

"I didn't say you did," I tell him with a smile.

"Alright, I ate your pancakes on the way home," he says. "I'm a growing boy." I laugh.

"I was probably going to give them to you anyway," I reassure him.

"Aw, thanks," he says. He wraps me in a hug. I walk up to my room and block his way into it.

"Austin, I think I'm safe now. I can sleep alone," I tell him. He frowns.

"R-really?" he asks sadly. He leans against the doorway. "Oh... o-okay." He starts to walk toward his room.

"I'm totally kidding. Get your pancake-loving self in here," I say. I grab his shirt and pull him into my room. He stumbles and we fall onto my bed. "Oops," I say sarcastically. He kisses me gently. Well, it started out gentle. When my lips touched his, it was like the first time we'd kissed. We'd kissed once when we were younger. Just to see why the teenagers did it so much. We didn't tongue-kiss or anything. We were seven years old. How were we supposed to know that they were using tongue?

_We were sitting on a bench at the park, eating our lunch._

"_I wonder why they do that so much," Austin said suddenly._

"_Do what?" I asked. He pointed to a teenage couple putting their faces to each other on the brick wall. "Gross!" I exclaimed. "What are they doing?! Sucking each others' faces?!"_

"_No, they're kissing or something like that," he told me. "I've seen my parents doing it." An image of Mr. and Mrs. Moon kissing flashed into my mind and I shivered. I looked over at them talking, a few benches away._

"_Maybe they have a reason to do it. Maybe it makes them feel good inside or something," I said, looking down at my half-eaten sandwich._

"_Do you think... do you think _we_ should try it?" he asked me. I looked up._

"_Wh-what?" I stuttered._

"_D-do you think we should kiss?" he asks. "Just to see if we get that special feeling you're talking about." I shrugged, not looking him in the eye._

"_I guess," I answered._

"_I don't know... Like, what if we do it wrong?" he asked. I stared at him. "What if we just look weird doing it? Should we wait until we're older? What if you have to be old to kiss somebody? What if-?" I put my finger on his cheek and turned his face to me. I leaned toward him and "kissed" his lips. My stomach dropped. In the good way. We stayed like that with our lips pressed against each others' for a __while like the teenagers do. When I pulled away, his face was very red._

I didn't dare tell him I felt something. I pull away from Austin.

"What's wrong?" he asks, out of breath.

"Do you remember that time when we were seven?" I ask him. He smiles as if he remembers it.

"At the park?" he asks. I nod. "Yeah, why?"

"I-um... I felt something," I tell him. He pulls away from me even further so our stomachs aren't touching anymore. He points to the middle of my stomach.

"Right here?" he asks with a thoughtful look on his face. I smile a little.

"Yeah. Right there," I confirm.

"Or maybe it was right here," he says, stroking the side of my stomach. I jerk.

"Stop, that tickles," I tell him, letting out a little giggle.

"Oh, it does?" he asks slyly. "Does this tickle?" He strokes the opposite side of my stomach. I nod.

"Yes, yes it does," I say, laughing. He begins to tickle me like there's no tomorrow. It's like I'm having spasms as I giggle uncontrollably. I can't run away since he's on top of me. He's got me pinned to the bed.

"Austy, stop it!" I exclaim, laughing my head off. He tickles me in all of my ticklish spots. I bite his arm because I'm crying from laughing so hard now.

"Ow! You bit me!" he says.

"You earned it. You were tickling me," I snap playfully. I smile up at him and my eyes slide closed.

"Don't tell me you're tired," he whispers in my ear, making a shiver run down my spine.

"Of course not," I say, shaking my head. "Just taking in my surroundings..."

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"I just wanna remember this moment. I'm putting it in my mental scrapbook," I joke. It's then that I realize that I haven't written in my _songbook _in _forever._ "Get off of me for a second," I say.

"Okay, but only for a second," he tells me. I roll my eyes as he gets off of me. I grab my songbook and lie back down on my bed. He sits on me again and I open my book. The last entry I wrote was last week. It was something about Tilly so I just flip the page.

_Dear Diary/Songbook,_

_Hello! I feel like I haven't written in you for years even though it's only been about a week. Summer's coming to an end. I have three more weeks here with my Austy. I'm gonna miss him so much when I go back to Miami. I just wanna move back down here. Seriously. But I love Trish and I can't just leave her behind. She's my best friend. I'd miss her too much. But I'll also miss Austin when I go back to Miami. My dad wouldn't just let us move anyway. We have Sonic Boom to take care of. Anyway, Austin's nudging me so I'll write in you later. Bye!_

_Love, Ally_

"What?" I ask as Austin continues nudging my shoulder. I close my book and put it to the side.

"I just wanted to say I love you," he mumbles, shrugging. I put my hand around the back of his neck and pull him down so I can kiss him.

"I love you too," I tell him. I yawn. "Okay, _now _I'm getting tired." He sighs.

"But it's only..." He takes out his phone and glances at the time. "... It's only midnight."

"_Only _midnight?" I ask with another yawn. He nods. I squeeze out from under him and crawl under the warm covers.

"Aw, you're just gonna leave me all the way over there like that?" he asks, copying me then pointing to the spot he was in five seconds ago.

"Hey, can you turn the light off?" I ask him, rubbing my eyes. He nods, walks over, turns them off, and lies back down. We lie in silence for a little while then we just start snickering. For no reason. Our laughs get louder and louder. We hear footsteps approaching my room.

"Quick! Act like your sleeping!" Austin whispers. I cease my laughter and roll over. Austin puts his arm around me from behind. My door opens.

"I know you two aren't sleeping. I just heard you laughing," Mimi says, sleepily. My face breaks into a smile and I'm glad I'm facing the wall opposite the door. She flips on the light. "You two, I know you're awake." I can't help it. I start laughing and Austin and I turn over.

"Go to sleep," she says with a smile. I nod to her.

"Goodnight, Mimi," I tell her.

"Goodnight, Ally. Goodnight, Austin," she says. She turns off my light and closes my door behind her as she leaves my room. Austin and I go into a fit of giggles once more before we actually go to sleep.

"Goodnight, Als," he says.

"Goodnight, Austy," I say back.

**Hello, my lovely readers. So I'm not sure how far behind I am. Either two chapters. Or three chapters. I'll have to find out in a minute. Right now, I have to get to sleep. I'll get up in a few hours and write so I can get caught up. So review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	23. Chapter 23

Last night, I slept so soundly. Like I was sleeping on a cloud in an angel's arms. Oh, the second part was already true anyway. I smile to myself as I lay in Austin's arms. He was still asleep when I woke up so I just let him sleep. He's been murmuring my name in his sleep. He stopped doing it a few minutes ago though. I turn a little and jump as my eyes meet his.

"Well good morning," he says. I smile.

"I thought you were asleep," I tell him with a smile.

"I woke up a few minutes ago," he explains but he frowns.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

"I was just having the best dream and woke up in the middle of it," he tells me. I turn all the way around.

"What was it about?" I ask.

"We were married and you were pregnant. It was the middle of the night and you just started screaming. I was so scared but then you told me that you thought you were going into labor. So we got dressed and I drove you to the hospital. And it was a little while before you actually, you know, gave birth. And you were squeezing my hand so tightly." He laughs a little. "Then the baby finally came out. The doctor went to go wash it. But I woke up before he came back. I really wanted to know what it looked like. I didn't even know if 'it' was a girl or a boy," he explains sadly. I put my hand on his cheek.

"Hey. Our baby is gonna be be amazing. If it's a boy, he'll be as handsome as his dad. If it's a girl—" I start but he cuts me off.

"She'll be as beautiful as her mom," he finishes for me. I smile and kiss him gently. I stand up. I walk into my closet, get dressed, and walk back out. We walk downstairs to bacon and eggs. I wonder what time it is? Oh well. Austin and I sit down at the table with our plates piled with pancakes, eggs, and bacon. We look at each other and giggle a bit.

"I'm guessing you two had a good night," Mimi says. Austin and I look up at her.

"What?!" we ask together. My dad chokes on his orange juice.

"What?!" he also asks.

"Don't worry. I'm just kidding," she tells us. My dad eyes Austin. Austin shakes his head worriedly at him. My dad narrows his eyes.

"Lester, you know I wouldn't," Austin says quietly across the table.

"You better not have," my dad tells him.

"Dad, we didn't," I reassure him. We eat our breakfast in silence. I slide Austin my pancakes one by one because I really don't want them. He gladly takes them. I poke his leg under the table. He jumps and when he realizes it was me, he pokes me back. We have a mini poke war under the table. When we finally stop and silently declare it's a tie, we burst out laughing. Everyone stares at us. After breakfast, Austin and I skip to Dez's house. Thankfully, it's only a block away.

"Hey, Mrs. Fisher," Austin says to the red-headed woman when she opens the door.

"Hey, Austin. You can go on up to Dez's room... Oh, who's this?" she asks gesturing to me and smiling.

"This is my girlfriend, Ally," he introduces me.

"Hi, Ally, I'm Mrs. Fisher," she says, shaking my hand.

"Hello, Mrs. Fisher," I say, smiling back. We walk past her and up to Dez's room. Austin opens the door and a confused look crosses my face. Dez is on his bed but he's upside down. His head is on his bed and his feet are on the wall. He's facing us and his face is red as can be. He turns himself upright and smiles at us.

"Hey!" he exclaims.

"What up, Dez?" Austin asks.

"Oh, I was just doing yoga," he answers shrugging. Yoga, huh?

"Okay... So do you wanna hang out to—?"

"Hey, there's my cat," Dez exclaims. He's staring behind us. He walks there, picks up his cat, and sits down on his bed. "You were saying?" he asks, trying to act sophisticated as he strokes his cat.

"I was gonna ask if you wanted to hang out today but if you're busy with your cat..." Austin trails off.

"Yeah, sorry. I have to give Mr. Mittens a bath," he says. The cat screeches and hisses.

"Alright, see you later then," Austin says. He pushes me out of the room. We walk to town.

"So what do you wanna do today, Beautiful?" he asks me. I blush and look down.

"I dunno," I mumble. He stops me and wraps his arm around me.

"We need to do something extremely fun today or tonight. You only have two more weeks here," he tells me sadly.

"T-two weeks?" I ask. "I thought it was three." He shakes his head.

"Only two," he tells me. I look down.

"Ooh, you know what we should do?!" I ask excitedly.

"What?" he asks.

"We should go skydiving!" I exclaim.

"Excuse me?" he asks. "Who are you and what have you done with Ally Dawson?"

"I told you before. She's in the basement. Oops, I forgot to feed her. Remind me to do that when we get home," I tell him with a wink. He rolls his eyes and we go to the skydiving place. Now we're up in the helicopter. Why did I have to suggest _this? _Austin takes my hand and we jump.

* * *

We laugh as we walk home, hand-in-hand with leaves and sticks in our hair.

"I can't believe we landed in the bushes," Austin says, wiping the tears caused by his laughing.

"I can't either! That was so fun though!" I exclaim, wiping my own tears. We walk through the front door and into the living room. We cease our laughter as everyone looks up at us.

"What happened to you two?" Mike, Mimi, and my dad ask together.

"We just went skydiving!" we exclaim.

"You went _skydiving?" _Mimi asks. "Do you realize how _dangerous_ that is?! Austin Monica Moon, how _dare _you make this poor little girl do that?!" Austin frowns.

"A-actually, Mimi, it was my idea," I tell her.

"_Yours?" _everyone asks.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" I ask with a slight chuckle. "We went skydiving. So what? You only live once so make that one life count." I shrug. Everybody stares at me. They mutter things that sound a lot like "True..." I smile. Then I frown, remembering what Austin said.

_"You only have two more weeks here... Only two."_

Only two weeks. I better make these two weeks count. Or at least the last week. Jimmy made him work extra hard the week before my last week here so I just hung out with Dez. But it's my last week here so Austin demanded the week off. Jimmy isn't that cold so he let him off since it was my last week here. On the first day of the last week, we woke up and got ready fairly early.

"Hey, Mimi, we're going out for a day at the beach," I say, as we pass her in the kitchen.

"Wait a minute. What exactly will you be doing?" she asks us, narrowing her eyes.

"Just swimming," Austin tells her.

"Alright," she says cautiously. "Have fun..." We walk out the front door and close it behind us. We run to the beach and take off our clothes, revealing our bathing suits underneath. We stare down at the water below.

"Are you ready?" I ask him. He nods. We intertwine our fingers and jump off of the cliff into the blue water below. I hold my breath as we hit the water and go under. "That was so fun!" I exclaim when we surface. Then I remember something. I remember my dream and tears pour down my face.

"What's wrong, Ally?" Austin asks worriedly.

"I... remember... my... dream..." I manage to choke out.

"Ally, I told you; I would never kill myself. And besides, you love me back so I have no reason to anyway," he reassures me. I try to wipe my tears but my face just gets wetter since my hands were wet from the water. So I just smile.

"You're right," I say. We go under the water and just stare at each other. Then we lean in and kiss each other. It starts under the water but ends above it. When we pull away, our mouths are full of water. We spit it out all over each other.

"Gross!" we both exclaim then we laugh.

"Hey, let's race to the shore. If I win, you have to carry me around whenever I want you to for today. If you win... um... what do you want?" I ask him.

"If I win... you have to... Ooh, you have to give me Dougie the Dolphin," he says with a smirk.

"Oh, you're on," I tell him. We swim-race to the shore and guess who won?

…

…

…

…

It was me! So Austin carries me up the cliff. He slings our bags over his shoulder and carries me back down. He sets down our stuff, including me, on the shore and we run back into the water. Most of the people don't start arriving at the beach until about noon and they start leaving as it gets dark around eight o'clock. But Austin and I play in the water through the night until about eleven. We can't even see each other so we just listen for each other. I stay very quiet and still for a moment.

"Ally!" Austin calls out. "Ally?" I submerge myself and swim silently over to where I think he's at. I come up slowly and quietly behind him. He whips his head from left to right, looking for me. I wrap my arms around his neck from behind. He chuckles a bit.

"Try and find me," I whisper in his ear.

"Hm, maybe she's... behind me," he says. He spins around. "Oh, look, I found her." He plants a kiss on my lips and smiles.

"Maybe we should get home now. We don't want Mimi coming out here. She'll tell us that you have a pool at your house for a reason," I tell him. He puts his arm around my waist.

"Does it really matter?" he asks, smiling.

"I suppose not," I say with a smile. He leans down and kisses me.

"I think it's time for you two to come home," someone says from the shore.

"I jinx everything," I mutter, pulling away from him. We swim to the shore.

"Did you two even eat anything today?" Mimi asks us. Right then, my stomach growls and I feel hungry. Thanks for reminding me.

"Nope," Austin says as if it doesn't matter if he eats or not.

"I don't even see why you had to come to the beach. We had a pool installed for a reason," Mimi tells us as she drives us home.

"I told you," I whisper to Austin who's sitting in the backseat with me. He just smirks. When we get home, Mimi stuffs us with a bunch of different kinds of foods since we hadn't eaten all day. After that, Austin and I go straight up to my room. I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. But I'm awoken by a sudden coldness. I look through blurry eyes at Austin sitting at my window, staring out into the night. I would have spoken, sat up, or _something _but I was too tired and I fell back to sleep.

"Ally... Ally..." someone says softly in my ear. I'm not awake exactly but I'm not dreaming either. They shake me a little. "Ally... Ally..." I feel lips brush across mine and I wake up. I see Austin's smiling face above me.

"Hey, Austy," I say sleepily. "Why'd you wake me up?"

"Come here," he says, taking my hand and standing me up. I follow him to my window. Austin sits down on the sill and I sit in his lap. He points up.

"There's not a cloud in the sky," he whispers. He's right. It's a beautiful night. The moon is full. There's no fog, no clouds, no anything. Just the stars and the moon.

"It's beautiful," I whisper. I fall asleep, still on the window sill and still in Austin's arms. But a few words that I hate keep echoing in my mind.

_Six days left._

**Haha, I realize that I made Ally tell you that that kiss after the movies was her first kiss. And now she's lying after the last chapter. So forget about when she said that "Austin took my first kiss right out from under me." He still did but, like, um... yeah.**

**Oh, and SaraParker12, my real name is Kenzie but people I've just met end up calling me MaKenzie in the beginning. So I've gotten used to answering to both. My real one is Kenzie but you can call me either if you'd like :)**

**Oh my gosh, you guys, I had the _best_/_worst _dream last night. I was watching a new episode of Austin & Ally that I had missed when it aired the first time. And I went to go get something and I came back and they were pulling away from a kiss. I was like ":O Are you SERIOUS?! I MISSED THE FREAKING KISS!" _AND _I COULDN'T FIND THE REMOTE SO I COULDN'T REWIND IT! I started crying and woke up crying real tears... **

**Oh, by the way, I won't be trying to catch up anymore :( I'd be writing nonstop and I can't be on the laptop _that _much... Anyway, review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	24. Chapter 24

I wake up in my bed. Again, Austin must have carried me here. But Austin himself isn't in here. I sit up and see him on the edge of my bed with his head in his hands. I crawl silently over to him and wrap my arms around him.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

"Oh, hey, you're awake," he says, raising his head a little.

"Are you alright?" I ask. I sit beside him and look at his face. He's... crying. "Oh my gosh. What's wrong, Austin?" I ask again, pulling him into a hug.

"You're leaving in less than a week," he says.

"You're coming to Miami next summer though," I reassure him. "And we'll talk all throughout the year."

"Yeah, but I won't be able to feel your lips on mine. And I won't be able to hold your hand. And I won't be able to fall asleep with you in my arms.," he tells me, his tears coming faster.

"Hey, it'll be next summer before you know it," I promise him. "You know what they say?"

"No," he says. I sigh.

"Distance makes the heart grow stronger," I tell him, kissing his cheek.

"Yeah, but I don't like long-distance relationships," he says. "I tried it once and she ended up cheating on me. I didn't know until I came to visit her."

"I would never cheat on you, Austin. You know I wouldn't. That's not me," I tell him.

"I know. I just—I don't know," he says.

"I love you and only you. That's all that matters," I say. He wipes his tears and sniffs.

"You're right. So what fun thing are we doing today?" he asks me.

"We've already been cliff diving... and bungee jumping... We could... um... I don't know," I say. He shrugs.

"I don't know either," he tells me.

"Hm," I say. "We need something to—" The doorbell rings downstairs.

"Austin!" Mimi calls from downstairs after a few seconds. I follow him down the stairs.

"Mrs. Fournier... Hi," he says. "Why are you here...?"

"For your lesson," she tells him, walking inside. "Oh, hello, Ms. Dawson."

"But I haven't had a lesson almost all summer. Why—?" Austin starts.

"Exactly. Now, off to the dancing room." Mrs. Fournier shoos us to the dancing room. I guess I named it correctly. We dance _all freaking day_. I can't even remember the names of some of the songs. I don't know why we did so many in one day. Mrs. Fournier kept saying we were doing really good so we'd keep going. And I don't know why I had to dance again. It's Austin's lesson; not mine. We sit against the wall, mopping the sweat from our faces after she leaves.

"I officially hate dancing," I tell him.

"Imagine having to do that everyday after school," he says.

"I wouldn't be able to do that," I say, shaking my head. "Oh gosh. Put me out of my misery." I rest my head on his shoulder. We walk out to the pool. We dip our heads in. We pull them out and sigh in relief.

"That feels so good," Austin says.

"Is she coming back tomorrow?" I ask. He shrugs.

"I don't know," he tells me. He tucks a strand of my wet hair behind my ear. "You have so much hair. How do girls manage all of that?" he asks, starting to play around with it.

"It really isn't that difficult," I tell him. I look up at the clouds. They're dark. Like it's going to rain soon. "Does it rain during the summer in River Dale?" I ask him.

"Sometimes. Towards the end," he says. He looks up. "Oh." He takes my hand and leads me inside. Not a moment too soon either. As soon as the sliding door is shut, it begins to pour down. "I'll be back," he says. I watch the raindrops slither down the glass like tears. The tears of your heart cry... I need to write that down later. I touch the glass and watch it fog up around my hand. I remove my hand from the glass. I fog up the glass from the inside by breathing on it.

_AMD+AMM_

Then I draw a heart around it. I hear slightly heavy breathing behind me and I turn. Austin hands me a towel and I begin to dry off my hair. I stop even though it isn't dry. I take Austin's hand and lead him to the front door.

"Where are we going?" Austin asks me. I don't answer. I open the door and lead him outside. "Ally, what are we doing out here? You're going to get sick again," he tells me.

"We're gonna dance," I tell him simply.

"Are you kidding me?" he asks me. I shake my head and smile.

"Nope," I say. He smiles too and we dance around like idiots. Austin picks me up bridal-style and spins me around. He leans down to kiss me and I hear the door open.

"I think you two need to come inside," Mike says from the door. "You wouldn't want to get pneumonia." Austin kisses me gently and carries me inside.

* * *

I sit cross-legged on Austin's bed and watch the rain outside. It just won't stop. It's been raining for three hours now. I like the smell of rain. I know that sounds weird but I just like it. I want to open his window but then his floor would get soaked.

I look back at him, asleep in his bed. This is the first time he's slept in his own bed in a while. I start to open it then lightning strikes and thunder booms. I jump and let out a scream. Austin jumps out of his bed quickly.

"What?! What?! What's going on?!" he asks worriedly. I crawl to the head of his bed and pull the covers over my head.

"I don't like storms," I whimper. "It was fine when it was just raining but now..." I take the covers off of my head and sit against his wall. I hug my knees.

"Ally, it's fine. It's not like the house is gonna catch on fire," he says.

"But it could!" I exclaim.

"But it won't," he promises. He lies back down and is back asleep before his head hits the pillow. I look down at him. He looks so adorable, so fragile, so... young. He looks like he did on the day we first met... Well, I guess we kind of met on the day he was born but we hadn't actually spoken. We didn't speak until 4K.

"_Allyson, remember: the Moons are picking you up from school today," my dad told me. I nodded to him and walked into the kindergarten school. My hair was in my mouth all day. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to find their car. I was afraid that I'd get lost. I was afraid that the Moons wouldn't like me._

_After school, I went and sat on my place mat. I looked down at the ground, waiting for them to call for me and tell me that I was going home. I saw feet approaching me and I looked up. I saw a boy with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. He was kind of tall for his age. He sat down beside me on my mat._

"_This is my place mat," I reminded him. "There's one assigned to you." I was kind of a teacher's pet and everyone needed to follow the rules._

"_Are you Ally?" he asked me._

"_It's Allyson," I corrected him._

"_I'm Austin. Austin Moon," he told me._

"_Oh, you're my dad's best friend's son," I said._

"_Yeah, my dad told me to look for you," he replied. "He told me to look for the prettiest girl with brown hair and eyes to match." My face got hot and I looked down._

"_You think I'm pretty?" I asked._

"_I guess. You still have cooties though," he said, scooting away from me a bit._

"_Oh, ha, ha," I said, laughing sarcastically and pushing him off of my mat._

We'd play together at recess everyday. We'd sleep beside each other at nap time. We'd share snacks at lunch time. We'd go over to each other's house after school. And we'd spend all day with each other on the weekends. And so our best friend-ness began. I look down at him. He's changed so much.

Obviously, he's taller. His hair is even darker now. His gold flecks are even more defined. His singing voice has gotten much better. He's stronger. He's actually a lot different than I remember. Physically at least. He's very sweet and funny. He always has been.

I stand up and run past the window. I don't want to get electrocuted or anything. I also don't want the lightning to hit the glass, the glass break, and the shards hit me. I walk to my room and pick up my songbook. I remember what I was supposed to write down.

_The tears of your heart cry_

I set it back down and walk back to Austin's room. I run past the window once more and look down at Austin. He's so adorable that I can't stand it. I smile. I climb into his bed and snuggle up to him. It isn't long before I'm asleep.

"_Do you remember the day we first met?" I ask Austin._

"_Ew. Why can't I forget?" he asks._

"_What?"_

"_Are you really that dumb?"_

"_I'm not dumb! Why would you call me dumb? I thought—"_

"_Whatever you thought, you thought wrong," he snaps._

"_Austin, what's gotten into you?" I ask him._

"_You. I'm _sick _of you. You make _me _feel dumb. You act like you're so much better than me at _everything_. You always have. You just... you just... Just go back to Miami! Nobody wants you here. Especially not me." I open my mouth to say something but he continues talking. "You can take your stupid book. You can take your stupid clothes. You can take your stupid laptop and phone. And you can _get out of my life!" _he screams at me. I look down sadly._

"_I thought you loved me," I whisper._

"_Like I said, you thought wrong," he spits. "It's the exact opposite. I hate you, Allyson Dawson."_

"_But Austin!" I exclaim, as he turns to walk away. He just disappears. Literally. I can't see him anymore._

"_Ally, wake up," his voice tells me. His voice is echoing a bit now._

"_Austin? Where are you?" I ask._

"_I'm right in front of you," he says. I reach forward and feel his chest. Yeah, he's right in front of me. "Ally, Ally, wake up," he repeats. "Ally... Ally..."_

"_Stop calling my name since you hate me," I mutter._

"_What?" he asks. "I don't hate you. I love you."_

"_Stop echoing!" I shout. "You're screwing with my brain!" I put my hands over my ears as if that will stop his voice from echoing. I crouch down. He reaches down and shakes me. "Stop it!" I yell. I stand back up. I start to walk forward but I run into some sort of wall. I feel around and find a knob._

"_Ally, where are you going? What are you doing?" Austin asks, following me. I run forward, straight into a wall._

"_Ow..." I whine. I turn to my right and run forward. Suddenly, I'm levitating. I squirm around. Suddenly, it's all dark. "What's going on?" I ask worriedly. "I can't see! I can't see!" I squeeze my eyes shut._

When I reopen them, I'm at the top of the stairs. I spin around and see Austin holding me, trying to stop me from falling down the stairs. I scramble backwards.

"Ally, are you alright?" he asks me worriedly.

"How did I get out here?" I ask.

"You were sleepwalking," he tells me.

"I don't sleepwalk!" I argue. He raises his eyebrows and lets out a short laugh.

"Then how'd you get out here? I just followed you," he says. We walk back to his room. "So what were you dreaming about? You were kinda screaming at me..."

"You called me dumb. You said that I acted like I was better than you at everything. You told me no one wanted me here so I could just go back to Miami. You told me to get out of your life," I say, tears forming in my eyes. I whisper the next five words. "You said you hated me."

"I don't hate you," he promises, pulling me into a hug. "Was that the whole dream?"

"The rest is just real life commuting into my dream," I tell him. "Let's just go back to sleep. I don't wanna think about it anymore. Like the other one." He seems to know what I'm talking about because he nods sadly. He lies down and falls back to sleep quickly. I lie down beside him but end up staying awake all night, thinking about those dreams.

**Sorry it's late. But I noticed something. Have any of you read my other story, Where There's A Nerdy Girl, There's A Cocky Boy? Well, the quotes for both stories are the same! Haha, anyway, review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	25. Chapter 25

"Ally, have you slept at all?" Austin asks, examining my eyes which, by the way, will not close. Well, they'll close but it takes a bit of work.

"Of course I have," I tell him, swatting his hands away from my face. I yawn and turn it into a cough.

"Ally..." he says.

"Austin, I am wide awake," I snap. He raises his hands in surrender.

"Sorry," he says quietly.

"I'm sorry, Austin. I didn't mean to snap at you. I just... I just need some coffee," I tell him. We walk downstairs and thankfully, Mimi's already brewed some coffee. I help myself to a cup of it and I jug it quickly.

Usually, I wouldn't drink coffee since it messes with your brain cells but this is a special occasion. I'm _extremely _tired.

I shudder as the sudden warmth slithers down my throat. Then I twitch as it makes its way to my... to my... whatever it's called. I can't think right now. I'm too tired. I twitch once more as the rest of the caffeine follows the first bit.

"Why are you twitching so much?" Austin asks from behind me.

"Twitching? I'm not twitching. Why are you twitching? Wait, _are _you twitching? I'm not sure. This caffeine is screwing with my braaaain!" I scream quickly. Austin takes my half-drunk cup of coffee and pours it down the sink drain.

"No more coffee for you," he tells me with a slight laugh.

"Why? Why not, Austin? I love coffee! Coffee's amazing! It makes me feel so alive!" I exclaim, running around the kitchen. "Have you ever had coffee before? If you haven't, you should. It's amazing!" Austin picks me up and I run through the air without actually moving.

"Ally, calm down. Please," he begs.

"Alright. Put me down and I'll calm down," I tell him. He sets me down and I stay still for a minute. Only a minute. Then I just can't stay still and I fidget. "Let's go do something!" I exclaim, running for the door. "Hey Dez!" I exclaim as I walk past him outside the door.

"What's up with Ally?" I hear Dez ask. I turn around.

"What's up with Dez?!" I ask walking back over to him.

"Well, my head is up. 'Cause you gotta keep your head up!" he sings.

"Ooh, I love that song!" I exclaim. "'Cause you gotta keep your head up! But you can let your hair down!" I jump up and down as we sing together. Austin rolls his eyes at our hyper-ness.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Ally!" Dez says. He digs through his backpack. He hands me a surprisingly straight dollar. "Happy birthday..." he tells me.

"It's not my birthday?" I say questioningly. "But okay!" I stick the dollar in my pocket.

"It's for all of the birthdays I've missed. There's a penny for each one," he says.

"I've only had fifteen birthdays though..." I tell him. "Did you really think I was one hundred years old?!"

"I just thought you used some really good moisturizer," he answers. "Then gimme back my dollar." I give it back to him with a frown. He rummages through his bag once more and gives me fifteen cents. "Happy birthday," he repeats.

"Thanks... I guess..." I say. I skip around in a circle as Austin and Dez talk.

"She's hyper on coffee. And she only had half a cup," Austin says quietly.

"Dude, I. Love. Coffee. Do you have any more in there?" he asks.

"Yes, but I don't need two hyper, child-like teenagers on my hands," Austin tells him.

"Fine. I'll get my own," Dez says. I stop as I see him pull a cup out of his backpack. I snatch it from him and drink it all.

"Thank you, Dez," Austin says sarcastically.

"That was my coffee!" Dez whines.

"Is it legal to marry coffee?" I ask, staring at the cup.

"I don't know. You aren't going to marry it anyway 'cause you're gonna marry me," Austin tells me. My eyes widen. "Wait a minute, wait a minute."

"What?" I ask. "Oh, Austin!" I jump into his arms. "You're so sweet," I whisper in his ear. "Can we have coffee at our wedding?" He sets me down and rolls his eyes. "Ooh! Let's go hang gliding!"

"You want to go hang gliding?" Austin asks me. I nod my head vigorously. "Hang gliding, Als? I don't know," he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Why not? Is the Great Austin Monica Moon nervous?" I ask sarcastically.

"What?" he asks in a high-pitched voice. "Of course not. I... I would _love _to go hang gliding but... there's no place to go here."

* * *

Austin, Dez, and I stand on the top of the cliff, ready to jump and glide. Ally D. can find _anything_. Turns out, the place that let us skydive also does parasailing, paragliding, and hang gliding—which, in my opinion, are basically the same thing. Just in different places, you know?

"Ally, are you sure you aren't having second thoughts?" Austin asks quietly from beside me.

"I'm sure, Austin. If you wanna sit this one out, you can," I tell him, kissing his cheek.

"Psht, I wouldn't miss this for the world. I've wanted to do this all my life," he says, again in a high-pitched voice.

"Alright. Then let's go!" I exclaim. When I do, we all start running. We run out of ground and just "glide." See what I did there? See what I did there? No? Okay... We let the wind take us.

_You will not cry. You will not cry. Just forget about the dream. It didn't really happen and it never will. Austin is right beside you and he'll always be by your side._

"WHOO!" I scream as we whip through the air. "This is such a rush!" When we finally get back to the ground, I just jump up and down with excitement. I look over at Austin who has his eyes squeezed shut and he's still gripping the rail of the hang glider.

"Austin, we're on the ground," I tell him, still jumping. He opens one eye then gradually opens the other.

"That wasn't so bad," he scoffs. "What'd you make me so nervous for?"

"_Me_?" I ask. I nod my head sarcastically. "Yeah, 'cause I was all like, 'O-M-G, if you go on this hang glider, you'll die in a crash-freak-accident. YOU SHALL DIE, AUSTIN! YOU SHALL DIIIE!'" I scream. He laughs sarcastically.

"Well, I saw someone die once on tv in a crash-freak-accident," he says. He puts air quotes around the word I had used.

"Hey, don't use my word," I snap playfully. I calm down a little for a second. "Austin, you're fine. If you would have just told me, I would have picked something else," I say as we walk back home. "Don't be afraid to tell me something." When I finish that sentence, I begin hopping home. Literally.

"That was so fun!" Dez exclaims. "We should go do it again tomorrow!"

"No!" Austin yells. "I mean, um, let's keep up a variety of the things we do."

"You need to pick tomorrow, Austin," I say between hops. He shrugs.

"I don't know. Don't leave me to pick," he tells me.

"Fine," I say pouting. He takes out his phone.

"Hello?" he answers it. Huh. I hadn't even heard it ring... "Tomorrow night?" Austin asks nervously. "I don't know..." He sighs. "Just tomorrow night? No other day of this week? ... Alright, fine. But as long as it's only tomorrow." He hangs up the phone.

"Ooh, what's tomorrow?" I asks excitedly, jumping up and down. He smiles slightly at me.

"Jimmy-" -I sigh at his name- "-called. I'm having my first concert tomorrow," he tells Dez and I.

"But you've already had a concert, haven't you?" I ask.

"Yeah, but I'm the main singer," he says. My eyes widen.

"Austin, this is amazing news! We all have to go!" I exclaim.

"But there's a problem..." he says cautiously.

"What kind of problem...?" I ask.

"I need a new song," he says, "and I'm all out of ideas for one."

"Oh... well, that's a bummer," I tell him. He snaps his fingers as if he just got an idea.

"How about you help me?" he asks.

"A new song? By tomorrow night? Are you kidding? That's hilarious," I tell him, forcing laughter. "Why do you need a new song anyway? Can't you just use an old one?" The day before Jimmy signed him flashes into my mind.

"What am I supposed to do? Sing the same songs over and over again for an hour?" he asks with a slight laugh of his own.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Hey, Dez, do you wanna come he-? Do you wanna-? What can you do...? Oh, do you wanna come watch us write the song?" I ask. I'm considerably calmer now. I guess the effects of the caffeine from the coffee is beginning to wear off.

"Yeah, do you mind if I video tape it?" he asks, pulling a video camera from his bag.

"Sure?" I say questioningly. We walk back to the house and bring Austin's keyboard and guitar up to the dancing room. The drums are already in here if we need them. We drag the bench to the keyboard and sit down. Austin sighs.

"What's wrong?" I ask him. He looks down at the keys.

"Honestly, I don't feel like doing this. I'm tired as I don't know what," he tells me.

"Tired?" I ask. "But you slept like a baby all night last night. By the way, you're pretty adorable when you murmur my name in your sleep."

"Aha!" he exclaims. "You _didn't_ get any sleep last night!" As he finishes the sentence, he yawns.

"Okay, okay, I didn't go to sleep last night. So what? I'm not tired now, am I?" I ask. I yawn. He stares at me. "Yawns are contagious," I say. He rolls his eyes.

"Do you have any half-written songs in your book that we can work off of?" he asks. I open my book and he peeks over my shoulder. Usually, if this was anyone else, I would push them away and tell them to get their nose out of my book. But this is Austin so...

"I have Perfect Two," I tell him.

"Perfect Two?" he asks.

"Yeah, it was the song you interrupted," I say, pointing a finger at him.

"What? I would never interrupt your songwriting process," he says, faking being shocked. I show him the page. "Oh, that one." I start the piano then I stop.

"Let's do a different song. Love songs aren't exactly your style," I say. His mouth forms an O.

"Psht, says who?" he asks.

"Says me," I tell him.

"Alright. I'm gonna do a love song just to prove you wrong," he says then he laughs like a goof. "Heh, that rhymed..."

"Can you guys just get to the songwriting?" Dez asks. "My battery's already dying." I smile.

"Sure, Dez," I say. Austin and I decide to write it as a duet then just let him sing it on stage alone. I start the piano again.

_Italics=Ally;_ **Bold=Austin; **_**Both=Both**_

_Ooh..._

_Yeah..._

**You can be the peanut butter to my jelly**

_You can be butterflies I feel in my belly_

**You can be the captain and I can be your first mate**

_You can be the chills that I feel on our first date_

_**You can be the hero and I can be your sidekick**_

_You can be the tear that I cry if we ever split_

**You can be the rain from the cloud when it's stormin'**

_Or you can be the sun when it shines in the mornin'_

**Don't know if I could ever be**

_Without you, 'cause boy, you complete me_

**And in time, I know that we'll both see**

_That we're all we need_

**'Cause you're the apple to my pie**

_You're the straw to my berry_

**You're the smoke to my high**

_And you're the one I wanna marry_

"Now what?" I ask. He shrugs. I roll my eyes and then I know what to put next.

_'Cause you're the one for me, for me_

Austin follows along and we sing that together.

_**'Cause you're the one for me, for me**_

_**And I'm the one for you, for you**_

_**You take the both of us, of us**_

_**And we're the perfect two**_

_Yeah_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_**Baby, me and you**_

**We're the perfect two**

_You can be the prince and I can be the princess_

**You can be the sweet tooth and I can be the dentist**

_You can be the shoes and I can be the laces_

_You can be the heart that I spill on the pages_

**You can be the vodka and I can be the chaser**

_You can be the pencil and I can be the paper_

**You can be as cold as the winter weather**

_But I don't care as long as we're together_

**Don't know if I could ever be**

_Without you, 'cause boy, you complete me_

**And in time, I know that we'll both see**

_That we're all we need_

**'Cause you're the apple to my pie**

_You're the straw to my berry_

**You're the smoke to my high**

_And you're the one I wanna marry_

_**'Cause you're the one for me, for me**_

_**And I'm the one for you, for you**_

_**You take the both of us, of us**_

_**And we're the perfect two**_

_Yeah_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_**Baby, me and you**_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_Yeah, yeah_

I nudge him playfully with my shoulder as we think of more lyrics. He looks at me and smiles. He nudges me back and I almost fall off the bench. We both laugh. I stare up at him and we share a quick kiss.

"Um, anyway, what should we put next?" I ask. He scrunches his face up, deep in thought. I laugh at his adorable thinking face. He writes down the lyrics and starts to play the melody. I sing what he wrote when it comes my turn to sing.

**You know that I'll never doubt ya**

_And you know that I think about ya_

**And you know I can't live without ya**

_No-oh, no-oh_

_I know the way that you smile_

**And maybe in just a while**

_I can see me walk down the aisle_

I stop his fingers.

"What?" he asks, confused. "Did you not like–?"

"No, no, it's perfect. I just–"

"Too far?" he asks. I shake my head.

"Let's just keep going," I tell him.

**'Cause you're the apple to my pie**

_You're the straw to my berry_

**You're the smoke to my high**

_And you're the one I wanna marry_

_**'Cause you're the one for me, for me**_

_**And I'm the one for you, for you**_

_**You take the both of us, of us**_

_**And we're the perfect two**_

_Yeah_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_Ohh_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_Ohh_

_**Baby, me and you**_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_Yeah, yeah_

He finishes the song with a few extra chords and I smile up at him.

"So you–?"

"Austin, I'm telling you. I'm fine with it," I promise him. He gives me a half-smile. "I love you," I say, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"I love you too," he whispers. I smile. I lean up and kiss him.

"Okay, so let's make a set list," I tell him. I flip to a new page in my book. "Ooh, you should sing them in chronological order!" I exclaim.

"Chronohocical, what?" he asks.

"Chronological," I correct him. "And it basically means from oldest to newest."

"So What Makes You Beautiful then Not A Love Song," he says. I write them down.

"The Way That You Do," I say and start to write it down.

"No, actually, Ain't Fallin' In Love was before that," he tells me. I write that down then The Way That You Do.

"Wait, wait, wait," he says. I sigh frustratedly. "Ain't Fallin' In Love, Double Take, then The Way That You Do."

"Are you absolutely, positively sure?" I ask. He nods. I write it down.

"Wait," he says. I exhale heavily and almost break my pen. "Calm down. I'm just joking." I roll my eyes. "Then Perfect Two." I write it down. I end up doodling a heart beside it. I look over the songs.

"This isn't enough," I say.

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"Do the math, genius," I tell him. He looks over the paper.

"Oh, I know," he says.

"And you couldn't have told me this before?" I ask. He shakes his head.

"Nope," he says as if he's proud. I roll my eyes.

"We need to write a few more songs," I say. "We should write... a sexy song." I snap my fingers as I say it.

"A _what?" _he asks.

"Okay, that sounded weird. Like, a song that'll have girls on the edge of their seats, metaphorically since there most likely won't be any seats. A song that'll make them want to be up on stage with you," I explain. "One that'll leave them wanting more." I start singing.

_I'll be your entertainer_

_I'm puttin' on a show_

_I'm gonna levitate ya_

_Leave you want-want-wantin' more_

"Oh," he says. "I get it."

_I see you're fascinated_

_I've got you hypnotized_

_White gloves, what you dream of_

_A fantasy before your eyes_

_Step right up on the stage_

_Free yourself, from the cage_

_Pick a card and guess it, girl_

_Here's a lesson, girl_

_It's just an illusion_

I write Illusion down on the set list.

_One, two, three, I disappear_

_Comin' right back so stay right here_

_Ain't no second-guessing, girl_

_I'm impressing, girl_

_But I'm just an illusion_

"Can you guys stop writing for just a few minutes?" Dez asks. I forgot he was in here and he's right in front of us! "My camera just died."

"Sure, Dez," I promise. He runs as fast as he can to get the charger. We wait patiently and Austin starts fidgeting.

"What's wrong, Austin?" I ask.

"I just got an idea for the second verse," he says.

"Don't say it. We promised to wait until Dez got back," I tell him.

"Actually, _you _promised. I didn't say a word," he corrects me. I put my hand over his mouth.

"Don't say it until he gets back," I say. He licks my hand.

"Gross!" I exclaim. I wipe my hands off on my pants. He opens his mouth and I kiss him.

"Don't say it," I murmur against his lips. Dez is back faster than you can say 'pickles.' I pull away from Austin and he starts singing as soon as Dez turns his camera back on.

Oh, uh, listen

I ain't no fake Houdini

I'll put a spell on you

I'm somethin' like a genie

_Girl, I'll make your wish come true_

_And now our times is runnin'_

_With every grain of sand_

_So here's the grand finale_

_Watch me do my sleight of hand_

"You've wanted to write this song, haven't you?" I joke, laughing.

"Maybe..." he says. We both laugh. I smile at him once more before returning to the task at hand.

"Okay, then you can sing the chorus again. And now we just need–**" **He's already singing before I even finish my sentence.

_Somewhere in a dream_

_We'll meet again, my baby_

_And I promise I won't disappear_

_I'll be right here_

_And I won't be-won't be-won't be_

_Just an illusion_

_Yeah, baby_

When he sang 'Somewhere in a dream', guess what ran through my mind? Every bad dream I've had this summer. Austin says something about singing the chorus twice and I nod in agreement. I bring myself back to reality and smile at him. I yawn.

"Do you wanna go take a nap?" he asks me. I nod a little. I lay my head on his shoulder. He chuckles. "I meant in your bed, silly."

"But your shoulder is much more comfortable than my pillow," I say, closing my eyes. I climb into his lap. "And your lap is much more comfortable than my mattress. And you're a lot warmer than my blanket."

"Are you saying I'm a bed?" he asks with a laugh.

"Kinda," I answer. I giggle. He wraps his arms around me. I nuzzle my head into the crook of his neck and fall asleep.

**Sorry it's late tonight. But hey, at least it's pretty long :) Anyway, review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	26. Chapter 26

_Italics=Dream, _**Bold=Lyrics**

"_Ally, there's no way I can make it without you. There's no way I can do it without you. I wouldn't be here without you," Austin says._

"_That sounded pretty good. Just take what you say and make it a song. You'll survive the school year if you do that," I tell him._

"_But it's just no fun when you're doing it alone," he replies._

"_I'll help you write one more song to remember me by," I say. He nods sadly. We sit down at the piano. "Now sing the first sentence you said to me," I say. I play a melody and he sings along with it._

**There's no way I can make it without ya**

"_Good. Now sing half of the second sentence," I command._

**Do it without ya**

_I gesture for him to continue._

**Be here without ya?**

_I nod._

**Be here without ya**

"_Now what's the last thing you said to me?" I ask._

"_It's just no fun doing it alone?" he asks. I think for a second._

"_Try 'It's no fun when you're doin' it solo,'" I tell him._

**It's no fun when you're doin' it solo**

**With you, it's like "Whoa!"**

"_Good," I say. "See? Just because I'm leaving today doesn't mean it has to be hard now."__He smiles a little._

_"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Ally," he says, hugging me._

I wake up, still in Austin's arms. He's still sitting at the piano. He's playing the melody I heard in my dream.

"Any lyrics?" I ask. He jumps a little and runs a hand through his hair.

"Not yet," he tells me.

"I've got some," I say. "But only for the chorus."

_There's no way I can make it without ya_

_Do it without ya_

_Be here without ya_

_It's no fun when you're doin' it solo_

_With you, it's like "Whoa!"_

_Yeah, and I know_

I stop playing.

"'Yeah, and I know'?" he asks me.

"We didn't finish the song in my dream." I tell him. He starts playing.

_When the crowd wants more_

_I bring on the thunder_

_'Cause you got my back_

_And I'm not goin' under_

_You're my point_

_You're my guard_

He looks at me and stops playing. I climb out of his lap and resume my regular position beside him. We start playing together. We hit the same chord (in different keys) and laugh.

"You're the perfect chord," we say together.

_You're the perfect chord_

_And I see our names together on every billboard_

_We're headed for the top_

_We got it on lock_

_We'll make 'em say "Hey!"_

_'Cause there's no stoppin'_

_Us when we hit the same but different_

_We're never gonna quit_

_And we'll keep rockin'_

_Oh!_

"Then the chorus. Do you think we need a little more for the chorus?" I ask. He thinks for a second before nodding.

_There's no way I could make it without ya_

_Do it without ya_

_Be here without ya_

_It's no fun when you're doin' it solo_

_With you, it's like "Whoa!"_

_Yeah, and I know_

"Hm..." I say. Austin starts singing.

_I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I own this dream_

_'Cause I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I got you with me_

He wraps his arm around me playfully. I have to play the right hand of the song since his is around me though. I laugh as we play together.

_There's no way I could make it without ya_

_Do it without ya_

_Be here without ya_

_You got the skills and I'm bringin' the fire_

_You're the fuel to my rocket and it's takin' us higher_

_Yeah, we got mad flow_

_And we're-_

I start laughing.

"What's so funny?" Austin asks, confused.

"The way you said the word 'flow.' It was just—I don't know. It was funny to me," I tell him, still laughing. He rolls his eyes playfully and we start playing again.

_And we're blowin' it up_

_All our fans are gonna scream_

_'Cause they can't get enough_

"Then the bridge then the chorus," I say, ready to finish. We still have a few more songs to write. "Anything to add to the end?"

_Yeah, yeah, yeah_

_I'll keep on rockin' with ya_

_Oh, oh, oh_

_And there's no stoppin' us_

_Yeah, yeah, yeah_

_I'll keep on rockin' with ya_

_K-keep on rockin'_

_We'll keep on rockin'_

"Then the chorus _one more time_," Austin says in a kind of high-pitched voice. I giggle at this.

Whoa

Be here without ya

_(-Out ya, -out ya)_

_Be here without ya_

_(-Out ya, -out ya)_

I smile because we're finished. I add "Can't Do It Without You" to the set list. After a few hours, we have as many songs as we need. The fans are most likely going to ask for encores so that will make it longer.

_What Makes You Beautiful_

_Not A Love Song_

_Ain't Fallin' In Love_

_Double Take_

_The Way That You Do_

_Perfect Two_

_Illusion_

_Can't Do It Without You_

_A Billion Hits_

_Better Together_

_Stereo Hearts_

_Tonight, Tonight_

_Lightning_

_Collide_

And, of course, Austin has a last-minute edit. He thinks that he should sing Perfect Two last since it's out of the ordinary. I agree. I cross out Perfect Two and move it to the end of the list.

"So you guys are done?" Dez asks. I nod. "Alright. I'll meet up with you two tomorrow. Bye!" he calls as he runs out of the room.

"So what time is it?" I ask. Austin looks at his phone.

"About nine," he tells me.

"Only nine?" I ask. "I thought I slept longer." He shrugs. I climb back into his lap and wrap my arms around his neck. "Until it gets late, we can..." I kiss him. He smiles into the kiss as he kisses me back.

"Ally?" someone asks from the door. I pull away from Austin and look up at the door. It's Mimi. "Something in your room keeps ringing." I stand up.

"Thanks, Mimi," I say. Austin follows me up to my room. I look at my already-opened laptop. I don't remember opening it but I probably did to be honest.

_Six Missed Video Calls From: TrishhLovessYouu_

I call her back.

"Finally!" she exclaims when she answers.

"Sorry, Trish, I was over in the dancing room with Austin and Dez," I tell her. We keep up a casual conversation before her boss tells her that her break is over. We say our goodbyes. I look up at Austin and he shifts uncomfortably.

"What's wrong?" I ask. He murmurs something about the word/number 'four.' "What about four?" I ask.

"I said four days," he tells me. "And that's when you're-"

"Leaving," we say simultaneously.

"Austin, it'll be next summer before you know it and you'll be coming to Miami," I say.

"I kind of don't wanna go to Miami next summer," he says. My heart drops to my feet. "No, I didn't mean it like that, Als. No, I mean, I just don't want to go to Miami in general. I'd rather you come here."

"Miami does kind of seem like bad luck," I say with a shrug.

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"Well, when we moved to Miami, the year after we did... my mom died. And I could never make many friends. Mostly just Trish and the people in the Mall of Miami Association. And the statue guy... But that's really it," I say.

"See? You had tons of friends here in elementary school. Can't you just move back here?" he asks hopefully. I sigh.

"Austin, you know I'd love to but... I can't leave Trish there alone. My dad wouldn't sell Sonic Boom. And Nelson would miss me terribly," I tell him.

"Who's Nelson?" he asks.

"I give him lessons in a bunch of different instruments. He has a giant crush on me. It's adorable," I say, smiling. This time, Austin sighs.

"I'm gonna miss you too, you know," he says.

"Yeah, but I can't just drop everything in Miami and move here," I argue.

"But that's what you did when you moved to Miami," he argues back. I sigh.

"You're right," I mutter guiltily, shuffling my feet on the floor.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I didn't mean to get into that. I didn't mean to make you feel guilty or anything."

"You didn't," I lie. "It's fine. Don't worry about it." He sighs again.

"Are you sure?" he asks. I nod.

"I'm sure," I tell him. I give him a quick kiss.

"Aww!" Dez exclaims. I jump.

"Dez, what are you doing here?! I thought you went home!" I yell.

"I needed a few more shots of you two acting all cutesy," he says.

"For what?" I ask. His eyes shoot from one side to the other.

"No reason!" he shouts, running out of the room.

"That was odd..." I say.

"Not really," Austin tells me. "It _is _Dez."

"True," I say. "So what time is it now?"

"It's about 9:30," he tells me.

"I think that's late enough to go to sleep," I say.

"Why?" he asks.

"Because you have your concert tomorrow and I want to be able to wake up and it already be tomorrow," I tell him. It takes him a minute to figure out what I just said.

"Als, even _I'm _not that excited about the concert," he says. My mouth forms an O in mock shock. "I'm completely joking. ALLY, I HAVE MY FIRST CONCERT TOMORROW. I'M FREAKING OUT ON THE INSIDE!" he screams. We jump up and down together like a couple of little fangirls. Or a fangirl and a fanboy. When we finally calm down, we get dressed for bed then get into it and sleep.

**So, for those of you that may be confused, she only took a nap. She didn't, like, go to sleep so it wouldn't be a new day. You can read about the concert tomorrow. By the way, sorry that it's so short. It was kinda sorta maybe a filler chapter. Or something like that. I don't really know how to describe it... Anyway, review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	27. Chapter 27

"Are you ready?" I ask Austin. He picks up his lucky guitar with our names on it.

"Ready," he confirms with a smile. He's been practicing every song since we woke up. I'm pretty sure he's ready. IM3 walks off the stage and Austin smiles at them.

"You did great," he tells them. They thank him and he exhales heavily. "Alright. You can do this, Austin. You can do this, Austin."

"Austin, you're gonna be amazing. Take a deep breath," I tell him. He takes a deep breath in. His face starts turning blue. "Now let it out," I say quickly. He exhales and his face returns to normal.

"Austin Moon! Austin Moon! Austin Moon! Austin Moon!" I hear the crowd chanting his name. I see Austin swallow.

"A kiss for good luck?" he asks, bending down a bit. I roll my eyes. I kiss his cheek. He frowns. I kiss his lips quickly and he smiles. "Thanks, Als." He runs out onstage.

"Are you ready to rock?!" he asks them. They scream in answer. "I've got a couple of new songs for you all! Do you wanna hear them?!" Scattered "Yeah!"s come from all over the place.

_You're insecure_

_Don't know what for_

Dez walks up behind me.

"Hey, where've you been?" I ask him.

"Getting everything set up," he answers simply.

"Getting what set up?" I ask. His eyes widen.

"Uh, nothing," he tells me quickly. I look back to Austin.

_That's what makes you beautiful_

He finishes the song and goes right into the next.

_You're always on my mind_

_I think about you all the time_

_Um..._

_No_

I hear people singing along and I do too.

"I love the way you get me but correct me if I'm wrong; this is not a love song, not a love song," I sing under my breath.

_Definitely not a love song_

Again, I can't help but laugh since it _is_, in fact, a love song. I mean, everything he loves about me is listed. The only non-love part is when he literally sings the part "this is not a love song."

"This next song," Austin says slowly into the microphone, "is a song I wrote... when I fell in love... with my best friend."

"Aww," they say. Except a couple of rabid fans who are in love with him who stay silent. Which is about half of the crowd.

_She said_

"_You're the perfect boy_

_But not the perfect boy for me."_

_And I disagree_

_I think we go together perfectly_

_We could be for real_

_I could cop a feel_

_I say you come a little closer and I tell you what's the deal_

_And maybe you know somethin' I don't know_

_The only thing I know for sure_

_Is you're_

_The one for me, oh_

_And_

_Basically_

_I'm lost without you guiding me_

_Please don't say goodbye to me_

_Girl, you know you shake my confidence lately_

_Talk with my lips but I ain't sayin'_

"_I'm fallin' in love"_

_And I don't know what I'm gonna do_

_But all I know right now_

_Is that I wanna be with you_

Curiosity gets the best of me.

"What _were _you setting up?" I ask Dez, turning around.

"Nothing!" he exclaims.

_I'm just way too young to be in love_

_Take it from me_

_It's the way it's gotta be_

_Yeah, I'm stupid, now I see_

_She's just not in love with me_

_And maybe you know somethin' I don't know_

_The only thing I know for sure_

_Is you're_

_The one for me, oh_

_And_

_Basically_

_I'm lost without you guiding me_

_Please don't say goodbye to me_

_Girl, you know you shake my confidence lately_

_Talk with my lips but I ain't sayin'_

"_I'm fallin' in love"_

_And I don't know what I'm gonna do_

_But all I know right now_

_Is that I wanna be with you_

_And I wanna tell the whole world, baby_

_Maybe I will but maybe not_

_Hey, baby, I'm in love!_

_And I don't know what I'm gonna do_

_I got so many things_

_That I wanna share with you_

_La, dee, da, dee, da, dee, da, da, da_

_La, dee, da, dee, da, dee, da, da, da_

_La, dee, da, da, la, da, dee, da_

Everyone claps along to the beat.

_La, dee, da, dee, da, dee, da, da, da..._

_And I wanna tell the whole world, baby_

_Maybe I will but maybe not_

_Hey, baby, I'm in love!_

_And I don't know what I'm gonna do_

_I got so many things_

_That I wanna share with you_

_Girl, you know you shake my confidence lately_

_Talk with my lips but I ain't sayin'_

"_I'm fallin' in love"_

_And I don't know what I'm gonna do_

_But all I know right now_

_Is that I wanna be with you_

_And I wanna tell the whole world, baby_

_Maybe I will but maybe not_

_Hey, baby, I'm in love!_

_And I don't know what I'm gonna do_

_I got so many things_

_That I wanna share with you_

He sings his "La, dee, da"s once more and the song is over. I smile. He sings Double Take and The Way That You Do.

"Now we're getting into the new songs! Whoo!" Austin yells. Everyone screams along with him. "This first one is Illusion. I think you'll really like it," he says with a wink. The way he dances along with the song is just... It captures the song perfectly.

_I'll be your entertainer_

_I'm puttin' on a show_

_I'm gonna levitate ya_

_Leave you want-want-wantin' more_

_I see you're fascinated_

_I've got you hypnotized_

_White gloves, what you dream of_

_A fantasy before your eyes_

_Step right up on the stage_

_Free yourself, from the cage_

_Pick a card and guess it, girl_

_Here's a lesson, girl_

_It's just an illusion_

_One, two, three, I disappear_

_Comin' right back so stay right here_

_Ain't no second-guessing, girl_

_I'm impressing, girl_

_But I'm just an illusion_

_Oh, uh, listen_

_I ain't no fake Houdini_

_I'll put a spell on you_

_I'm somethin' like a genie_

_Girl, I'll make your wish come true_

_And now our times is runnin'_

_With every grain of sand_

_So here's the grand finale_

_Watch me do my sleight of hand_

_Somewhere in a dream_

_We'll meet again, my baby_

_And I promise I won't disappear_

_I'll be right here_

_And I won't be-won't be-won't be_

_Just an illusion_

_Yeah, baby_

_Step right up on the stage_

_Free yourself, from the cage_

_Pick a card and guess it, girl_

_Here's a lesson, girl_

_It's just an illusion_

_One, two, three, I disappear_

_Comin' right back so stay right here_

_Ain't no second-guessing, girl_

_I'm impressing, girl_

_But I'm just an illusion_

_Step right up on the stage_

_Free yourself, from the cage_

_Pick a card and guess it, girl_

_Here's a lesson, girl_

_It's just an illusion_

_One, two, three, I disappear_

_Comin' right back so stay right here_

_Ain't no second-guessing, girl_

_I'm impressing, girl_

_I'm just an illusion_

The girls swooned and screamed and cried as he sang and dance. He sings Can't Do It Without You and A Billion Hits.

_Sometimes_

_I get in my own way_

_I need someone to say_

"_Hey_

_What are you thinkin'?"_

_Your words..._

After that song, he goes straight into Stereo Hearts.

_My heart's a stereo_

_It beats for you so listen close_

_Hear my thoughts in every note_

_Oh, oh_

I smile as he sings and sing along at certain parts.

_It's been a really, really messed up week_

_Seven days of torture_

_Seven days of bitter_

_And my girlfriend went and cheated on me_

This was one of those songs that you just write for fun. Obviously, I didn't really cheat on him.

_She's a California dime_

Well, that's pretty true... I think. What exactly _is _a California dime anyway?

_But it's time for me to quit her_

But we didn't break up.

_La, la, la_

Everyone claps along as he sings. This is obviously a party song so everyone is dancing in the crowd. Even Dez is dancing back here. It's pretty hilarious. But it's not as bad as my Ally Dance. Some of the people in the crowd can't dance that well either so I don't feel so bad. The next song is one of my personal favorites. Lightning.

_You're in control_

_Pressin' pause on my heart beat_

_Someone stole all the air so I can't speak now_

_I know_

_The chase_

_Is on_

_I feel_

_As though_

_My time_

_Has come_

_How many times_

_Do I fly_

_Through your head space?_

_Now it's speeding away_

_From the safe place_

_Yeah_

_Your skin_

_The touch_

_The kiss_

_The rush_

_Too much_

_And here_

_It comes_

_When your lips touch mine..._

_It's the kiss of life..._

_I know_

_I know that it's a little bit frightenin'_

_We might as well be playin' with lightning_

_We touch like_

_Like it's our first time_

_Oh, oh_

_I know that it's a little bit frightenin'_

_We might as well be playin' with lightning_

_Now..._

_Oh, oh_

_Oh, oh_

_Just you and me and the coats in the backroom_

_Learnin' things they don't teach in the classroom_

_Now_

_You're here_

_I feel_

_The fear_

_But everything_

_Is oh-_

_So clear_

_I've been addicted to you since the first surge of electric_

_Yeah_

_Your skin_

_The touch_

_The kiss_

_The rush_

_Too much_

_And here_

_It comes_

_When your lips touch mine..._

_It's the kiss of life_

_I know_

_I know that it's a little bit frightenin'_

_We might as well be playin' with lightning_

_We touch like_

_Like it's our first time_

_Oh, oh_

_I know that it's a little bit frightenin'_

_We might as well be playin' with lightning_

_Now..._

_Oh, oh_

_Oh, oh_

_Oh, oh_

_Oh, oh_

_Your skin_

_The touch_

_The kiss_

_Too much_

_Your skin_

_The touch_

_The kiss_

_The rush_

_Your skin_

_The touch_

_The kiss_

_Too much_

_The rush_

_The rush_

_The rush_

_The rush_

_When your lips touch mine_

_It's the kiss of life_

_I know_

_I know that it's a little bit frightenin'_

_We might as well be playin' with lightning_

_We touch like_

_Like it's our first time_

_Oh, oh_

_I know that it's a little bit frightenin'_

_We might as well be playing with lightning_

_Now..._

_Oh, oh_

_Oh, oh_

This next one is also one of my favorites. Collide. Austin grabs his acoustic guitar and sits down on the stool that had been brought out. Everyone sways to the music as he plays.

_The dawn is breaking_

_A light shining through_

_You're barely waking_

_And I'm tangled up in you_

_Yeah_

_I'm open, you're closed_

_Where I follow, you'll go_

_I worry I won't see your face_

_Light up again_

_Even the best fall down sometimes_

_Even the wrong words seem to rhyme_

_Out of the doubt that fills my mind_

_We somehow find_

_You and I_

_Collide_

When he finishes the song, I feel incredibly stupid. I should have seen this coming.

"This next song is kind of... It isn't exactly me. It's a slow love song. I know I've sang a love song before but this one is... This one's... special," he says carefully. "Oh, and it's a duet." My eyes widen. "And who will I be singing it with, you ask? My beautiful baby girl, Ally!" Some of the crowd cheers. "Come on, Als. I can't sing it without you."

I shake my head. Why didn't I see this coming though? Some of this song was written from a girl's point of view, a huge fail on my part. Austin walks off stage.

"Ally, please. I'm going to get you over this fright. Even if it takes a thousand years," he tells me quietly. I smile.

"I'm sorry, Austin. I'm just not ready," I say.

"Well, you really do have to sing it though. It's a duet," he sighs.

"I'll sing it from over here," I tell him. He frowns at me and walks back onstage.

"Well, she doesn't wanna get her _beautiful self _out here," he mutters into the microphone. "But at least you'll get to hear her beautiful voice!" He smiles. A stage manager hands me a microphone. I thank him.

_Italics=Ally; _**Bold=Austin**_**; Both=Both**_

_Ooh..._

_Yeah..._

**You can be the peanut butter to my jelly**

_You can be butterflies I feel in my belly_

**You can be the captain and I can be your first mate**

_You can be the chills that I feel on our first date_

**You can be the hero and I can be your sidekick**

_You can be the tear that I cry if we ever split_

**You can be the rain from the cloud when it's stormin'**

_Or you can be the sun when it shines in the mornin'_

**Don't know if I could ever be**

_Without you, 'cause boy, you complete me_

**And in time, I know that we'll both see**

_That we're all we need_

**'Cause you're the apple to my pie**

_You're the straw to my berry_

**You're the smoke to my high**

_And you're the one I wanna marry_

_'Cause you're the one for me, for me_

_**And I'm the one for you, for you**_

_**You take the both of us, of us**_

_**And we're the perfect two**_

_Yeah_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_**Baby, me and you**_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_You can be the prince and I can be the princess_

**You can be the sweet tooth and I can be the dentist**

_You can be the shoes and I can be the laces_

_You can be the heart that I spill on the pages_

**You can be the vodka and I can be the chaser**

_You can be the pencil and I can be the paper_

**You can be as cold as the winter weather**

_But I don't care as long as we're together_

**Don't know if I could ever be**

_Without you, 'cause boy, you complete me_

**And in time, I know that we'll both see**

_That we're all we need_

**'Cause you're the apple to my pie**

_You're the straw to my berry_

**You're the smoke to my high**

_And you're the one I wanna marry_

_**'Cause you're the one for me, for me**_

_**And I'm the one for you, for you**_

_**You take the both of us, of us**_

_**And we're the perfect two**_

_Yeah_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_**Baby, me and you**_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_Yeah, yeah_

You know that I'll never doubt ya

_And you know that I think about ya_

**And you know I can't live without ya**

_No-oh, no-oh_

_I know the way that you smile_

**And maybe in just a while**

_I can see me walk down the aisle_

'Cause you're the apple to my pie

_You're the straw to my berry_

**You're the smoke to my high**

_And you're the one I wanna marry_

_**'Cause you're the one for me, for me**_

_**And I'm the one for you, for you**_

_**You take the both of us, of us**_

_**And we're the perfect two**_

_Yeah_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_Ohh_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_Ohh_

_**Baby, me and you**_

_**We're the perfect two**_

_Yeah, yeah_

The crowd roars with applause. I cut the microphone off and suck in a deep breath.

"Well, that's it everybody! Good night, Ri-" Austin starts but Dez runs up on stage and takes the microphone from him.

"Wait, wait! There's one more thing I need to show you!" Dez says into the microphone. Austin and Dez argue silently for a second. Well, it's silent to me because the people in the audience are speaking amongst themselves and Austin nor Dez are speaking into the microphone.

"Okay, apparently Dez has something to show you all," Austin says questioningly. A large screen comes down from the ceiling above the stage. A picture of Austin and I at the beginning of summer, a little after I met Dez, appears on it. Dez's voice comes through the speakers.

"_They started out as best friends..." _his voice says. I look over at him. He isn't talking so he must have narrated this before. The screen shows Austin and I splashing around in the pool. It goes from the pool scene to a few shots of different hugs we'd shared. I smile.

"_But they grew... and grew... and grew... into something more," _he says. The screen flashes to one of our first kisses. Happy tears roll down my cheeks.

"_You aren't going to marry it anyway 'cause you're gonna marry me," _Austin's voice says from the screen. It was when I was hyper on coffee and I asked if I could marry coffee. Then it cuts to when I jump into his arms. The rest of the video is just some sweet moments until the end. It's quick shots of each song we wrote. Where we'd push each other jokingly, stare into each other's eyes, kiss each other, and smile at each other.

"_A total of thirty-six kisses, fifty-two hugs, forty-eight 'I love you's, and endless moments. The two best friends will love each other until the end," _Dez finishes the video. Tears of joy are pouring down my face now. I look at Austin and he's crying too.

"Well, th-that... that was... that was beautiful!" Austin yells, his voice casual at first, hugging Dez. When he finally pulls away from Dez and faces the crowd, he brings the microphone back up to his mouth. He collects himself before he speaks. "Goodnight, River Dale!" he exclaims. He walks offstage.

"Dez, that was amazing," I say, wrapping my own arms around him. He hugs me back.

"Thanks, Ally. That's why I kept video taping everything you guys did. It took forever to edit all of that into a video that short," he tells me.

"I really appreciate it," I say, pulling away from him. "Did you really count all of the kisses, hugs, and 'I love you's?" He nods and reaches into his backpack. "Do you think I can—?"

"—Have a copy?" he cuts in, handing me a CD case. "Why, yes you may." He reaches into his bag again.

"Can I—?" Austin starts.

"—Have one too?" Dez finishes, handing him a CD case identical to mine. "Why, yes you may." We all laugh. Mike, Mimi, and my dad walk up. They're all crying too. They all congratulate Austin on his first concert. They tell him he did very well. Then they tell Dez that the video was amazing. Jimmy comes after a few minutes.

"That was great, Austin," he says. After a few more minutes, we head home.

"I'm glad you, at least, sang," Austin says, as we lie in his bed. We decided to switch it up a bit tonight. Instead of sleeping in my bed, we're sleeping in his. It's a little less comfortable than mine since his has been slept on more.

"Yeah, I almost didn't want to do that," I tell him honestly. "We better get to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us."

"What are we doing tomorrow that'll take all day?" he asks.

"Think of what we're gonna do," I joke. "That will really take a while."

"Kiss goodnight?" he asks. I lean up and kiss him. When we pull away, I smile at him and get comfortable in his arms. I fall asleep almost instantly.

**Hey, sorry it's late. Review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	28. Chapter 28

I look up at all of the childhood memories on Austin's ceiling. I smile.

"Hey, Als?" Austin asks. I didn't know he was awake. I've just been laying in his arms peacefully.

"Yeah, Austy?"

"You awake?"

"No, I'm sleep-talking."

"Since it's your last day here... and you're leaving tomorrow..." he hesitates. I look up at him. "Do you think we can just hang out around the house?" I nod.

"Of course we can," I tell him.

"No Mom. No Dad. No your Dad. No Dez. Just you and me."

"Just you and me," I confirm.

"No book?" he asks.

"No book?!"

"Please," he says. I swallow.

"N-no book," I tell him carefully. He smiles.

"Awesome," he says. We walk down to the kitchen. Everyone's already gone.

"Is everyone at work already?" I ask.

"Probably," Austin answers. We help ourselves to the leftover bacon and eggs. After it's all gone, I start to wash the dishes we'd used but Austin stops me.

"What?" I ask.

"Leave it for later," he tells me. I raise my eyebrows. "I wanna get started on having fun." I laugh and roll my eyes. We walk into the living room and Austin plops down on the couch. I sit down in his lap and he flips on the tv. He turns it to the Nick Jr. channel.

"Austin, why—?" I start but he shushes me.

"This is my favorite show," he whispers.

"You like..." I look at the screen. "Go, Diego, Go?"

"And you know what it's called so you have no room to talk," he snaps playfully. "Now, shh, I wanna see if they find Baby Jaguar's growl..." He goes deep into thought as he stares at the screen. I giggle a bit. After a few minutes of watching, he chuckles to himself.

"Silly bobos," he says quietly. I laugh at him many times throughout the episode. "Hey, they found his growl." He cuts off the tv and looks at me. "What's so funny?" he asks.

"You," I answer, still laughing. He pushes his eyebrows together in confusion. "This is a kids' show," I remind him.

"No, no, no, this is _my _show," he tells me with a smirk.

"I see," I say with a giggle. "So that's what you call fun, huh?" He nods excitedly. "So what do you wanna do now that your show has gone off?" He kisses me and I kiss back. My fingers entangle themselves in his hair and his arms tighten around my waist as he deepens the kiss. After a while, we finally have to break for air. I move a little.

"Aah!" I exclaim as I fall off the edge of the couch. We both laugh as Austin helps me up. Austin leads me to the dining room.

"What are we doing in here?" I ask. He peels back the table cloth and crawls under the table. I'm confused but I follow him nonetheless. He points to the underside of the table. I look up and see a few coloring books and crayons taped to it.

"Coloring?" I ask.

"You know how fun I am," he says, "psht." He takes everything down and hands me a coloring book along with a pack of crayons.

"Why are they under here?" I ask.

"My mom says I'm too old for coloring books and she found all my hiding places for them in my room. So I thought, 'She'll never think to check under the table!'" he exclaims.

"Uh, Austin?" I ask, pointing to a note directly above his head. He takes it down.

"'Dear Austin,'" he reads, "'I found your coloring book stash but I'll let you keep them since I'm a nice person and I love you. Love, Mommy.' Huh, I guess she _does _clean the floor under here sometimes..." I let out a laugh.

"Aw, your mommy woves you," I joke. I open the coloring book to a page of an uncolored rose. I pick up a red crayon and set to work. Once the petals are fully colored, I pick up a dark green crayon and color in the stem. Then I take a brownish-tannish crayon and fill in the thorns. I take out a lighter green crayon and color the bush leaves. Then I color the sky blue and the sun yellow and look up at Austin.

"What do you think?" I ask, showing it to him. He shakes his head wearily.

"Ally, Ally, Ally," he says as if he's very tired. "Have I taught you nothing? You have to color _outside _the lines." He reaches for the coloring book I'm holding and I snatch it away from him.

"You are _not _messing up this masterpiece," I snap. I tear the page out of the book. "I made it for you." He smiles at me.

"I'll put it on my wall. Put your name on it and the date," he tells me. I do as he says and hand it back to him. He sets it down beside him and looks up at me. "Now color another one and this time, color outside the lines." He stresses the last three words. I sigh.

"Fine," I mutter. I turn the page and see a picture of a clown. I color the spots all different colors. I show it to Austin. "See? I can color outside the lines." He chuckles.

"Where'd you color outside the lines?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. I point to the outside of the clown's left leg where I made a small, orange, stray mark. He laughs and grabs my hand, which still has a crayon in it. He makes scribbles all over the paper, using my own hand. "Who's outside of the lines now?" he jokes, roaring with laughter.

"No, Austin, stop!" I shriek. My orange crayon snaps in two but he continues to color messily. "You broke my crayon!" I wail. He continues laughing loudly. When he finally stops, you can't even see my beautiful clown... I do the same as I did with my other coloring and he takes it.

"And I'll put this one beside the even more beautifuler rose you colored," he says, resting it beside my rose.

"You made a grammatical mistake," I say, as if I can't believe it. "It's either more beautiful or beautifuler not even more beautiful. Psht." He rolls his eyes and holds up his own book.

"What do you think of mine?" he asks. I don't even know what I was but I still smile.

"It's awesome," I tell him. He writes his name and the date on it and I take it from him. "I'm gonna take it home to Miami and put it on my wall, right above my desk. I sit there everyday after school so everyday, I'll be forced to think of you. Well, I'll probably think of you anyway but—" I cut myself off as I see the frown on his face. "What's wrong?" He shakes his head and shrugs.

"Nothing," he says. I crawl over beside him and rest my head on his shoulder.

"We're not supposed to think about that. This day is about you and me," I say. "It's today. We'll wait until tomorrow to think about tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," he finally says with a smile.

"You know what? I want to bake a cake for all the Moons."

"Ally, I don't think we have enough cake batter for all the moons..." he tells me.

"Are you thinking about the moons in the sky?" I ask.

"Maybe," he admits.

"No, silly, I'm talking about you. For you and your mom and your dad," I specify.

"But _why_?" he asks confused.

"For letting us stay here all summer," I tell him. "Thank you."

"Ally, come on. You're basically family. You don't have to thank us for letting you and your dad stay here. It's not like we were gonna make you stay at a hotel or something," he says.

"Well, I also kinda, specifically, wanna thank you," I say slowly.

"Me?" he asks. "For what?"

"For not being mad at me and—" I start.

"Ally, we talked about this. I don't care that you left me randomly," he cuts me off. His voice cracks on the last word. "All that matters is that you're here now. And yeah, I know you're leaving tomorrow. But this time, I know I'll see you again next summer." He smiles at me. "You're still making a cake, right?" he adds.

"Of course. Would you like to help me?" I ask. He hesitates.

"Uh... sure," he finally answers. We tape the coloring books and the crayons to the underside of the table again and put the pictures we made on the top. We walk to the kitchen.

"Actually..." A smirk spreads across my lips. "I'm gonna make you pancakes then we can make the cake later." I get out a mixing bowl and set it on the counter. "Okay, so we need eggs, milk, and butter, I think. There's something else too..." Austin grabs the mix and pours it all over his head.

"A little bit of Austin," he says.

"Yummy," I joke. We laugh. He looks at me and smiles. He wipes his face off, leans over, and kisses me. It takes me by surprise. My eyes widen then close and I kiss back. When he moves back, I smile. "Sugar!" I exclaim. "That's what we were missing." I take it down from the counter. "So Austin..." I say.

"Yes, Als?" he asks.

"Hi," I say.

"Hi?" he asks. I nod. He pushes his eyebrows together in confusion then he smiles. "You're so cute. I love you," he says. I lean up and kiss him gently.

"I love you too," I reply with a smile. "I just realized something..."

"What's that?" he asks.

"We've been standing here but we haven't even started _mixing _the pancakes," I say. We laughs.

"Probably because I poured the mix all over my head," he tells me, smiling and gesturing to his head which still has some mix in it.

"Yes, that may be a problem," I say, laughing again. He shakes his head and the mix goes flying.

"How clumsy of me," he jokes.

"You're so silly," I say, cleaning up the mess. He helps me clean up the mess off the floor. After a few seconds, we bump heads and look up into each other's eyes. I giggle nervously and continue wiping. Austin lifts my head up by my chin and smiles at me. I look away. I don't know why I feel so shy all of a sudden. Maybe it's because I'm all alone with him.

"What's wrong?" he asks me worriedly.

"Nothing's wrong," I say nervously.

"We've been best friends forever yet you're still shy around me. Why, Als?" he asks. I shrug.

"I don't know," I mumble.

"Ally, I love you. Please don't be shy around me."

"I'm sorry, Austin. You just make me nervous sometimes. Like, when we're alone. I just feel like I'll do something wrong," I say.

"Nothing you could ever do would be wrong," he tells me. I smile.

"I'll try to stop being so shy around you. For you," I say. He smiles and kisses my cheek gently.

"Thank you," he whispers. We finish cleaning up the mess and I sigh sarcastically.

"What?" he asks.

"Now we're all out of pancakes. I guess you don't get any," I say. His eyes widen.

"Be right back!" he exclaims. He runs out the front door. I giggle. I walk to the dining room, pick up Austin's picture, and bring it to my room. I open my laptop, rest it on the keyboard, and close my laptop. At least it won't get all crumbled up on the way home.

That reminds me, I think I should start packing. I bring all of my clothes to my bed and fold them up. Then I put them carefully in my bag. Bras and underwear on the bottom. No one would want to see those. I also put my bathing suits down there with them. Pants and skirts on top of them. Then pajamas. Then tank tops then shirts on the very top.

Then I remember something. I take everything out, making sure to leave everything folded up. I take out my bathing suit, in case Austin wants to go swimming later, pajamas to go to sleep tonight, and an outfit for tomorrow. Then I walk to the dancing room and get my songbook. I walk back to my room and set it on my bed.

What am I forgetting...? My eyes sweep around my room. Nothing. I need to leave everything else out for tomorrow when I'm getting ready to... leave. I pick up my songbook.

_Dear Diary/Songbook,_

_Well, today is my last day. I'm leaving tomorrow. Austin and I are both sad about that but we hold on to the fact that we'll see each other next summer. Hopefully, he won't have to work as much. A girl can only hope. Right now, he's out getting more pancake mix since he decided to make himself an ingredient. Haha, he poured all of the mix on his head. He was so adorable. He should be back soon so I'm gonna go. Bye bye!_

_Love, Ally_

"ALLY!" someone screams from downstairs as soon as I close my book. It flies into the air and drops to the floor. I pick it up and set it on my bed. I walk to my door.

"Yes, Austin?" I call down the stairs. He runs up them.

"Guess what?" he asks excitedly.

"What?" I ask.

"The store gave me _free pancakes!" _he exclaims.

"Free pancakes?" I ask. He leads me down the stairs. I look at the table and see a large bag full of smaller bags of pancakes. "Why did they give you free pancakes?" I ask.

"They said that they loved me so I shouldn't have to pay!" he says with a bright smile on his face. I put all of the bags in the freezer. "I kinda think I should have paid though but they said they had it covered so..."

"Well, I guess if they say so then it's fine," I say "Oh, I still need to make a cake." I cross to the cabinets. I take out everything I need and mix it together. I pour it into a pan and, once the oven is preheated, I put the pan in the oven. "You want this?" I ask Austin, gesturing to the leftover cake batter.

"Ally, do you know nothing about me?" he jokes. "Of course I want that." He takes the bowl from me and licks it clean. "See? Now you don't have to wash it." I laugh.

"Yes, because everyone wants your saliva," I joke. I run water into it and set it in the sink.

"Ew, you're right," he says. We lie around the house for a while before the timer goes off. I check the cake and it's done. I grab some oven mitts and slip them over my hands. I take out the cake and set it on the top of the stove.

"You're gonna ice that, right?" Austin asks from behind me.

"Yeah, why?" I ask.

"Can I help you?"

"'Course you can. What colors do you have?" I ask.

"We have yellow, white, blue, orange, and red," he tells me.

"What are your parents' favorite colors out of those?" I ask.

"Um... I don't know their favorite colors," he admits.

"Then we'll just use them all," I say.

"You should use yellow the most," he says.

"We'll use them all equally. We can make the top-left yellow, the top-right blue, the bottom-left orange, and the bottom-right red," I tell him. Once it's cooled down, we ice the cake with all of those colors. Then we write **Thank You! **in white icing.

"I think I did pretty good icing this cake," he tells me cockily. I shove him playfully. "Okay, okay, your small help was pretty good too." I shove him again. "Alright, _we _did pretty good icing this cake," he says, putting his arm around me.

"Thank you," I say, "and yes, yes we did." We set it off to the side. "What time is it?"

"About five," he tells me.

"So when does everyone get off of work?" I ask.

"Your dad gets off of work about 5:30 and my parents get off about 5:45," he says. "So they should be coming home around six."

"You know what we haven't been doing?" I ask. He smiles and wraps his arms around my waist.

"I have an idea," he says, leaning in to kiss me. I start talking before he can though.

"We haven't been doing my guitar lessons," I say. He pulls back.

"Your guitar lessons? That's 'cause you can play now," he tells me.

"Not as good as my teacher," I say with a smile.

"And how good is your teacher?" he asks, faking being oblivious to the fact that he's my teacher.

"Oh, he's _very _good," I say, putting my arms around his neck.

"Oh, yeah?" he asks. I nod. "And how _awesome_ is said teacher?"

"He's _very _awesome," I tell him.

"Hm? And... how sexy is he?" he asks. He picks me up and sets me down on the counter so he doesn't have to look down to look at me anymore.

"He's _very _sexy," I answer, tapping his nose.

"I see. And are you maybe in love with this teacher?" he asks.

"Hm, I don't think I should reveal that," I joke. "Students aren't supposed to feel that way about their teacher..."

"I'll take that as a yes," he says, smiling and kissing me gently. He carries me up the stairs to his room. He sets me down and picks up his lucky guitar. I pick up the red one I like. He teaches me some guitar stuff for about an hour. He ended up behind me, sort of playing for me with his own hands.

I told him I was more of a hands-on learner. He knew that wasn't exactly true so he knew what I meant so he took off his guitar and came over to me. That's how he taught me for the last thirty minutes. I can really learn any kind of way so that worked. I take off my guitar and put it down on the stand.

"Can I tell you a secret?" I whisper, looking up at him. He nods. "I _am _in love with my teacher," I whisper to him with a wink.

"Aha! I knew it! I'll kill him!" he jokes. I laugh and shake my head. I lean up and kiss him. I twist my body so I'm facing him so I can kiss him better.

"Austin! Ally! We're home!" Mimi calls up the stairs. I pull away from Austin and we walk downstairs. "Dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes," she tells us. Mike and my dad walk into the living room, going on about some football game that's starting in a few minutes.

"I already have dessert handled," I say, nudging Austin in the ribcage.

"What do you mean?" she asks. I nod toward the counter and she turns around. "Oh, Ally, did you make this?" she asks.

"Yep, Austin and I made it," I tell her.

"What are you thanking us for?" she asks.

"For letting me stay here all summer," I answer.

"Ally, you're basically family. You don't have to thank us for letting you and your dad stay here. It's not like we were gonna make you stay at a hotel or something," she says.

"That's exactly what Austin said," I tell her with a smile.

"Like Mother, like daughter," she says. I laugh.

"Mom!" Austin exclaims.

"Sorry. I meant to say that Mike probably would have said the same thing too. Then I was going to say 'Like Father, like son,'" she tells us quickly.

"Sure," Austin says sarcastically. When Austin isn't looking, she flashes me a smile that says she really didn't mean to say that but she also doesn't care. I smile back. She starts dinner and Austin and I start to walk up the stairs.

"TOUCHDOWN!" we hear Mike and my dad shout from the living room. Then we hear them high-five.

* * *

"Austin, Ally, may I ask you a question?" Mimi asks after she swallows the piece of cake she was eating. Austin and I look up at her simultaneously.

"Yes," we say.

"Why are you wearing your bathing suits?" she asks. Austin and I look down at our bathing suits then back at Mimi.

"We're gonna go swim after dinner," I explain.

"Okay..." she says. "This cake is delicious though."

"It really is," Austin, Mike, and my dad all say scattered. Austin swallows his last piece of cake. We put our plates in the sink and walk out to the pool. I jump right into it. Once I surface, Austin jumps in, making a big splash. We swim around for about an hour. Most of the lights in the house are off now so everyone must be asleep. Austin swims up behind me and tickles me. I start laughing.

"Austin, stop it!" I exclaim, squirming around. He stops for a second.

"Hm... no," he says, tickling me again. I laugh and think, trying to remember his ticklish spots... I reach for his stomach and start tickling him. He jumps and starts laughing.

"No fair!" he exclaims, laughing.

"How is this not fair? You were tickling me!" I say, also laughing.

* * *

I don't even remember how we got up here. It doesn't really matter. Austin's up here with me so I'm fine.

We're lying on the roof, looking up at the moon and the stars. His arm is around me. We changed into the clothes we were wearing earlier in case it got cold but it really isn't that cold tonight. It's actually pretty warm. Austin looks down at me and kisses me. I kiss him back automatically.

_Makin' out up on the roof_

I roll over on top of him and deepen the kiss. When we finally pull apart and I return to my original spot beside him, I hear a group of people on the road in front of the house. They're laughing like idiots.

"Hey losers! I'm gonna laugh when you fall!" one of them call up to us. We sit up and look down at the group of obviously highly intoxicated boys. "What are you even doing up there?!"

"We are waiting to board the mothership!" Austin exclaims and I laugh. "They should be here any minute! And we'll send them to abduct you unless you leave right now!" They run down the street, tripping over each other. We laugh at their dumb selves.

"You know what we should do?" he asks me once they're out of sight.

"What?" I ask.

"We should skinny dip," he tells me, raising his eyebrows.

"Um, excuse me?" I ask with a slight laugh. "You can do that on your own if you want." He rolls his eyes.

"Come on, Als. It'll be fun," he says.

"I am not doing that," I say. He sighs.

"Hold on," he tells me. He goes over the top of the house and disappears. He grunts a little as he hits the ground. Suddenly, the light that illuminates the pool goes out and I can't see anything. "See? Well, don't see? Now no one can see you," he calls up to where I'm sitting. I feel something fall on my head. I take it off and wait for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Once they do, I see that I'm holding Austin's bright pink boxers.

"Ew!" I exclaim, throwing them backwards. I hear a splash in the pool.

"Ally!" Austin calls in a sing-song voice. I sigh and climb over the top of the roof, dropping down when I get to the end. I can't really see him either. "You coming in?" he asks. I take off my shirt and my pants.

"Do I have to take off my bra and underwear?" I ask.

"Yes. If you don't, it technically isn't skinny dipping," he says. My eyes adjust a bit more and I can see the outline of Austin's body. I take of my underwear and my bra. I throw my bra on Austin's head.

"Whoo!" he exclaims when he figures out what it is. I laugh. "I hope you know I'm keeping this," he jokes. Well, I _think _he's joking. I see it fly past me and land on the table. I dive into the water head first.

_Skinny dippin' in the pool_

Austin swims over to me.

"Stay away from me!" I exclaim, swimming away from him and laughing.

"Ah, come on," he says.

"Not while we're freaking naked!" I yell. I can't help but laugh even harder.

"If it helps, I'll put my boxers back on," he says. He swims to the edge of the pool closest to the house where I threw them at and he pulls them into the pool. After a few seconds, he swims back over to me. "Happy?" he asks. I smile.

"It's a little better," I say. He wraps his arms around me, careful not to touch any of my... erm... places. Thank God I don't have big breasts because his chest is touching them. If I did have them, Austin would have... never mind.

He presses his lips hard against mine. I close my eyes and kiss him back, running my fingers through his hair. When he pulls away, I blink and smile even though he can't see it.

Suddenly, the lights that are in the pool come on. They must have a sensor that tells them when it's dark or something. My eyes widen to the size of saucers. Austin's eyes slide down to my chest. I put my hand under his chin and force him to look into my eyes.

"Don't make me slap you," I snap. He smiles.

"Sorry," he says, kissing me once more.

"Is there anyway to turn these off?" I ask, pulling away from him. He nods. "Will you?" I ask. He looks up, deep in thought.

"Hm, I don't know if I should..." he says.

"Turn. Them. Off," I say firmly.

"Aw, what's the magic word?" he asks.

"Please?" I ask. He shakes his head. "Uh, pancakes?"

"Ah, you're so smart," he says. He climbs out of the pool and disappears into the house. After a few minutes, the lights go off and he comes back out. I hear him yelp and then there's a splash.

"What'd you do? Fall in?" I ask when I hear him come up for air.

"Psht, no. Maybe..." he says.

"You're so silly," I tell him for the second time today. We swim around in complete darkness for a little while. Then Austin goes to get us towels. I climb out and wait for him, with my arms folded over my chest in case the stupid lights come back on. Austin throws a towel out the door and it hits me. I grab it before it can fall to the ground. I wrap it around myself.

"Can I turn the lights on?" he asks me.

"Yes," I say. He flips them on and laughs.

"What's so funny?" I ask.

"I've never gone skinny dipping before," he says giggling.

"Well, now you have," I say, laughing too. "Can we go inside now? It's starting to get cold."

"Sure, Als," he tells me. He grabs my bra off the table.

"Gimme that," I demand.

"I told you I was keeping it. And you didn't object to it so..." he trails off with a smirk on his face. We grab the rest of our clothes and walk up to my room. Austin changes in his room and I change in mine. When we're both done changing, he comes back into my room and we lie down in my bed.

"You're gonna be here when I leave, right?" I ask.

"I promise, Ally. Where am I gonna be anyway?" he asks. I shrug.

"I guess you're right," I say, snuggling into his arms. "Hey. There's still one thing that bothers me."

"What's that?" he asks.

"When the lights came on in the pool, did you see anything?" I ask worriedly.

"If it bothers you that much then," he says quietly to where he thinks I probably can't hear then he says the next part at regular volume, "no, Ally, I didn't see anything." I swallow. Maybe I heard the first part wrong. Or maybe I imagined it altogether. I jump up. "What?" he asks. I grab my songbook and open it.

_Skinny dippin' in the pool..._

_Or makin' out up on the roof..._

I look down at the two lines of lyrics once and think of something else.

_Crazy for you_

And I am. If it was anyone but Austin, I probably wouldn't have done that. I feel Austin's hot breath on my neck.

"I'm crazy for you too," he whispers in my ear, making a shiver run down my spine. I kiss him once quickly then lie back down, setting my book on my side table.

"Goodnight," I say.

"Goodnight," he replies.

**Sorry I didn't update yesterday. The long-ness of this chapter should make up for it. I should have the last chapter up tomorrow. I'll have to get over my OCD-ness once more and... bear the fact that it's an odd number... Review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


	29. Chapter 29

I wake up. _Alone_. Where is Austin? I jump up and run down the stairs, still in my pajamas, hoping that he's down here eating breakfast... but I only see three people before me.

"W-where's Austin?" I ask, my voice shaking a little. Everyone shares a sad look at each other but I keep my eyes glued on Mimi. She flashes me a sad smile. I swallow. "Where's... Austin...?" I ask, now full of anger. Not at Mimi, or Mike, or my dad. At Austin. He promised. Mimi walks over to me and puts her hand on my shoulder. I shrug it off.

"Honey, he... he had to work today. Jimmy said it was an emergency," she tells me. I exhale and run to my room. I grab the outfit I picked out yesterday and run to the bathroom.

I strip off my clothes slowly and turn the shower on, waiting for the water to get warm. Once the temperature is to my liking, I get right in. I shiver as the warmth rushes through me. I wash, rinse, and repeat with my hair about three times. Then I wash my body about five times. Then I just stand in there, taking my time. Hoping that Austin will be back by the time I get out.

When I do get out, I towel myself off and change into my clothes very slowly. I pick up my toothbrush and put the toothpaste on it. I brush my teeth. I walk out of the bathroom and back to my room with my pajamas and my toothbrush. I put them in my suitcase and turn around.

_Austin's downstairs_, I keep telling myself, _Austin's downstairs..._

But he isn't. I still only see three people in here. Mike, Mimi, and my dad. I sigh. I shake my head.

"Mimi, he promised," I whisper to her when she wraps her arms around me. A quiet sob escapes my lips.

"He'll be back. Just wait about another hour. I'm sure he'll be back," she reassures me.

"An hour?" my dad asks. "We were supposed to be leaving after breakfast though." Mimi hushes him.

"You're going to wait," she tells him firmly. I hear him grumble something to Mike. "What was that?" she asks him.

"Nothing," he says quickly. I let myself sink into Mimi as tears roll down my cheeks. I sigh.

"C-can I call him?" I ask. She nods.

"Of course you can, sweetie," she says. I walk up to my room slowly. I pick up my phone.

_Alice_

_Anna_

_Austy_

I click his name and call him. It goes straight to voicemail. His phone must be off.

"_Hey it's Austin! I can't come to the phone right now but leave me a voicemail and I'll call you back as soon as possible. Bye!"_

"Hey Austin. It's Ally. Um, I just... We're gonna leave in about an hour. I know you're busy but come back as soon as you can. Please. I love you. Bye," I say. I hang up the phone and drop it onto my bed, along with myself. I stare up at my white ceiling and sigh. I reach for my songbook but stop myself. I don't even feel like it. Actually, I just lied. I always do. I pick up my songbook. I don't want to write an entry though. So I flipped to the song I started yesterday.

_I played it safe_

_I kept my foot up on the break_

_I never really took a chance in life_

_And didn't live for today_

I decide that I'm going to write it from Austin's point of view.

_Oh, girl and then I met you_

_Opened my eyes to somethin' new_

I write for the hour, oblivious to my surroundings. I hoped that when I looked up, Austin would be right behind me, watching me write in silence... but he isn't. My dad walks into the room.

"Ally..." he says. I look up and wipe the tears from my eyes. I nod to him. He leaves my room. I put my laptop in my bag and bring it down the stairs with my songbook in my right hand.

"I'm sorry," Mike says to me. I shake my head and shrug as if I don't care.

"It isn't your fault," I say dismissively.

"Maybe I'll see you in two summers," he says with a slight chuckle.

"You aren't coming to Miami with Austin next summer?" I ask. He shakes his head sadly.

"We can't leave Moon's Mattress Kingdom unattended," he tells me.

"You still own that place?" I ask. He nods.

"There's no hassle in our castle!" he exclaims happily. I smile. "Queen Mimi," he rests his arm on Mimi's shoulders, "King Mike," he points to himself, "and Prince Austin."

He takes out a paper crown from his back pocket and puts it on his head. Mimi does the same and puts hers on her head. They're both gold and they say **Moon's Mattress Kingdom **on the front. "Prince Austin" makes me giggle a bit. I smile at them.

"But why don't you just get someone to watch it for you?" I ask.

"There are many crazies in this town," he says simply with a small laugh.

"Yeah, tell me about it," I mutter, thinking of Tilly. He hugs me. I hug him back with the arm that isn't holding my bag.

"I'm gonna miss you," he tells me.

"I'm gonna miss you too," I reply. After we release each other, I look to Mimi who's crying. She was so quiet about it that I didn't even notice. She hugs me silently. When we pull away, she smiles sadly.

"I love you," she says. I smile back.

"I love you too, Mimi," I tell her. My dad gives her a quick hug and they say their goodbyes. He turns to Mike who's holding back tears. My dad is also holding back tears.

"Men don't cry," they say together. They sigh. "Oh, yes they do!" They cry loudly as they smother each other in hugs. Mimi and I look at each other and she raises an eyebrow. Five minutes later, they're still crying and hugging. If this isn't a _serious _bromance, I don't know what is...

"Dad, we'd better get on the road," I say. He moves away from Mike and my eyes widen. Why did I do that?! He was wasting time. Austin could come back the second we leave! Nice going, Ally...

"You're right, Ally. Goodbye, Mike," he says, clapping a hand on Mike's shoulder. Mike does the same and nods to him. My dad nods back. Soon after, we put our bags in the backseat of the car. I glance down the road, to see if Austin is coming.

There isn't a car in sight. I sigh and climb into the front seat. I take out my phone. I try Austin's phone once more. Again, it goes straight to voicemail. Furious with him, I shut off my own phone and shove it into my pocket.

**Austin's POV: (Quickly)**

"Alright, you can take a quick break," Jimmy tells me. I've been asking him if I could for about five minutes. I rush outside the recording booth, over to my phone and pick it up. I'm going to call Ally and tell her I'll be home soon to see her off. Oh, no... What if she already left?

I press the button so I can unlock it... but the screen doesn't light up. I press it three more times and it still doesn't come on. I push my eyes together in confusion. Is it... off? I hold down the button and the screen lights up. The start-up screen shows.

"Jimmy, did you turn my phone off?" I ask him. He nods. "_Why?" _I ask, irritated with him.

"It could have interfered with the recording equipment," he tells me.

"But Ally's didn't that day," I argue.

"That was a newer booth. This one's old and the slightest technology could ruin it for life," he says. He looks down at my phone. "Take it outside please," he says. I sigh frustratedly and walk outside. I notice that Ally called me about an hour ago and left a voicemail. She called again a few minutes ago but she didn't leave a voicemail this time. I ignore them both, dial her number, and hold my phone up to my ear.

"_Sorry but that I'm missing your call right now. I'm most likely reading, studying, or writing in my book. Probably the latter. Um... anyway, leave a message after—THE CORNER OF THIS PAGE IS BENT! DAD, DID YOU TOUCH MY BOOK?! Oh, leave a message after the tone. DAD!" _I can't believe I got her voicemail.

"Hey, Als. Um, it's-it's Austin. I hope you haven't left yet. I'll be home soon. If you get this message and you're still at my house, _please _don't leave yet," I beg. "I love you. Bye."

"Austin, come on. We need to finish this," Jimmy says.

"Hang on just a sec'. I have to check my voicemail," I say.

"Austin, come on. I have other artists to record. I haven't got all day," he snaps. I look down at my phone and sigh.

"This will only take a second, Jimmy," I tell him. I call my voicemail and listen to it.

"_Hey Austin. It's Ally. Um, I just... We're gonna leave in about an hour. I know you're busy but come back as soon as you can. Please. I love you. Bye,"_ Ally's voice says. She left this message an hour ago... and she was gonna leave in an hour.

My fingers tighten around my phone and I throw it down, shattering the screen. I bang my head on the wall twice. I've already missed her.

"Joey, clean this up," Jimmy says to a nearby janitor, snapping his fingers toward the mess I'd made.

"Ay! It's Dave!" the janitor says to him in a thick New Jersey accent as Jimmy ignores him and walks back into the room.

**Ally's POV:**

We've been driving for about three hours now. I look up at the quickly-darkening sky. I stare out the window at the passing cars. Suddenly, I see a few trees then a bright light.

"We're going to stay here for the night. You know I don't like to drive at night," he says. It isn't because he can't see. It's because of the others who can't see that might crash into us. I find out that there's a forest around the motel we're at and the bright light was the motel's sign which said _Vacancy. _The 'V' and the first 'c' were blinking as if they needed changing. They probably do.

We scramble out of the car, not even bothering to get our pajamas or anything. My dad doesn't get his because he usually just sleeps in his clothes anyway. I don't get mine because I don't exactly plan on sleeping tonight. I just can't believe Austin wasn't there when I left.

He has work, I understand that, but some things are just more important than work. Like—oh, I don't know—your girlfriend leaving for about nine months or so. Wait, is school really that long? Yeah, because summer is only three months. Nine plus three equals twelve and there are twelve months in a full year. Okay, wow... But, anyway, I'm leaving for nine months and he chose work over me. That's just... no. No. You don't _do that_. It's just _not right._

My dad checks us in for the night and we walk up to our room. He lies down, tosses and turns for a few minutes then falls asleep. I grab my songbook, walk out the door and to the lobby of the motel. I walk out the front door and sit on the sidewalk that runs in front of the ground floor rooms.

I sit against a pole and open my book. I've got this whole song figured out except for the stupid bridge and the freaking chorus. I see two car headlights out in the distance. Suddenly, the lyrics just flow out of me like a river after a reign of tears. That's good too. I write that down on the next page. Then I flip back to my current page.

_Don't you know you changed my life?_

_Girl, 'cause now I'm livin' and it feels so right_

_Yeah_

_You got my heart beat pumpin'_

_And it's goin' insane_

I think for a second and remember the time, a few days ago, when Austin and I went skydiving.

_You got me jumpin' outta airplanes_

But that doesn't sound right... I could use the British spelling?

_You got me jumpin' outta aeroplanes_

_And that's why_

_I'm crazy; it's true!_

_Hey!_

_Crazy for you!_

_You got me base-jump livin'_

_And I can't look down_

_You know you short-circuit my brain_

_I can't lie_

_I'm crazy; it's true!_

_Hey!_

_Crazy for you!_

Then at the end, I could add the last three lines again. I look up. The car I'd seen zooms by as fast as it can go. It looks a lot like Mimi's car... Of course I would think that though. My mind hopes that it's Austin. But we're already a few _staties _away from River Dale. It can't be Austin.

After a few seconds, it backs up at the same speed. It whips into the driveway of the motel. It turns into a parking space quickly. The driver climbs out of the car and runs toward me. I try to run away but the alleged attacker picks me up and spins me around before I can go anywhere.

I struggle to get out of their grasp. They force their lips upon my own. They feel... familiar. I still can't see who they belong to though. I'm blocking the light so they're just a dark shadow. They set me down so I can see their face.

"Austy!" I exclaim. So that _is _Mimi's car then. I jump back into his arms and kiss him. He kisses back for a second then pulls away. "How did you find me?" I ask.

"I've been stopping at every motel and hotel between River Dale and here," he explains. He face turns a dark shade of crimson. "I almost missed this one," he adds sheepishly. He sets me down again.

"I'm glad you didn't," I whisper.

"I just _had _to say goodbye to you. So... goodbye," he says with a laugh. His laughter slowly dies out. "No, really, I felt so bad when I realized that you'd already left. I didn't get your voicemail until the hour after you'd sent it. About the time when you left probably. I finished up with Jimmy quickly then I called my mom on Jimmy's phone and told her I was going to look for you."

"Why Jimmy's phone? Why not your own?" I ask. His face turns the crimson color again and he looks down.

"I kinda... broke mine," he tells me. I push my eyebrows together in confusion. "Well, I was mad that I missed you so I threw it at the ground where it shattered into about two million pieces." I remember something.

"Hey, I wrote you a song. Not exactly a song to you but, like, a song," I say. I rip the page out of my book and hand it to him.

"Crazy 4 U?" he asks with a laugh. "Why'd you spell it like that?" I shrug.

"Who knows? I guess I just felt like spelling it that way," I tell him. He folds up the page and puts it in his pocket. His face turns serious.

"I love you," he says. I smile.

"I love you too," I reply. I kiss him once more and he begins to walk back to Mimi's car. "Bye, Prince Austin!" I call jokingly.

"Dang you, Mom and Dad," he groans. Then he laughs. "Bye, Princess Ally!" he calls back. I smile.

The next day, as soon as I get home, I take Austin's picture out of my laptop and tape it to the wall above my desk. I smile at it and turn my laptop on.

I see a notification on the ooVoo icon on my desktop. I open ooVoo and see a buddy request. They sent it only five minutes ago. I click accept. It'd be nice to have more than one friend. Wait, what if this person is a creepy stalker? They don't even have a picture...

_AM_

That's their user name. I decide to give them a call. They answer after only two rings. Austin's face flashes across my screen and I give a small squeal of excitement.

"Hey Prince Austin," I say.

"Hey Princess Ally," he says.

**Haha, so I went over to my niece's house last night, right? AFTER I posted the chapter, mind you. And guess what she was watching? GO, DIEGO, GO. HOW IRONIC. And do you wanna know what episode was playing? THE ONE WHERE BABY JAGUAR LOSES HIS GROWL. LIKE, WHAT? It was kinda creepy actually... Oh, and this is the last chapter... DON'T MAKE ME LOOK AT THE NUMBER.**

**Kookiie, I started laughing so hard when I read your review xD**

**Lover-Bug, the version you're talking about is the Disney Channel version. Since apparently, you can't talk about swimming naked or putting your tongue in someone else's mouth on Disney Channel... Anyway, review!**

**Love, Kenzie**


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